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The differences between production technicians and service technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a production technician, becoming a service technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a service technician has an average salary of $40,379, 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 service technician are plumbing, customer service, and preventative maintenance.
| Production Technician | Service Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,550 | $40,379 |
| Hourly rate | $18.05 | $19.41 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 135,266 | 254,533 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
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.
Service technicians are assigned in the field to address the concerns of their clients. Service technicians are responsible for the installation, maintenance, or repair of different units or items related to their company's products or services. They should be familiar with their company's products so that they can properly install, maintain, or repair them. They conduct diagnostics and analysis to assess the condition of the unit they are servicing and properly address problems. They also do routine maintenance check-ups. Service technicians are expected to be trustworthy, have good analytical skills, and have good decision-making skills.
Production technicians and service technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,550 | $40,379 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $49,000 | Between $28,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | Frederick, MD | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Cornerstone Research | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a production technician and a service technician in terms of educational background:
| Production Technician | Service Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between production technicians' and service technicians' demographics:
| Production Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6% | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% |
| 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, 5.1% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 1.7% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 1% |