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The differences between production technicians and production leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a production technician and a production leader. Additionally, a production leader has an average salary of $44,563, which is higher than the $37,550 average annual salary of a production technician.
The top three skills for a production technician include hand tools, preventative maintenance and quality checks. The most important skills for a production leader are customer service, continuous improvement, and safety procedures.
| Production Technician | Production Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $37,550 | $44,563 |
| Hourly rate | $18.05 | $21.42 |
| Growth rate | 3% | - |
| Number of jobs | 135,266 | 107,578 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 36% |
| Average age | 45 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A production technician is an individual who is responsible for assembling and testing manufactured goods before they are marketed to the general public. Production technicians usually work with manufacturing and quality assurance personnel to ensure that high-quality work standards are implemented by workers. By maintaining high-quality work, production technicians must implement up-to-date, efficient methods of production as well as production equipment maintenance procedures. They also schedule training for workers and educate them regularly on health and safety regulations.
A production leader usually works at a manufacturing plant or a similar setting. They are primarily responsible for overseeing all processing operations and workforce performance, ensuring efficiency and timeliness. They are also responsible for coordinating with personnel, producing progress reports, processing paperwork, delegating tasks, setting the budget and goals, evaluating performances, and even training new members of the workforce. Furthermore, as a leader, it is essential to implement all policies and regulations set by the company to maintain a productive and safe work environment for everyone.
Production technicians and production leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Technician | Production Leader | |
| Average salary | $37,550 | $44,563 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $49,000 | Between $31,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | Frederick, MD | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | New York |
| Best paying company | Cornerstone Research | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production technician and a production leader in terms of educational background:
| Production Technician | Production Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between production technicians' and production leaders' demographics:
| Production Technician | Production Leader | |
| Average age | 45 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6% | Male, 70.6% Female, 29.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 5.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |