Production worker vs production technician

The differences between production workers and production technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a production technician has an average salary of $37,550, which is higher than the $30,847 average annual salary of a production worker.

The top three skills for a production worker include production process, safety procedures and assembly line. The most important skills for a production technician are hand tools, preventative maintenance, and quality checks.

Production worker vs production technician overview

	Production Worker	Production Technician
Yearly salary	$30,847	$37,550
Hourly rate	$14.83	$18.05
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	136,584	135,266
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	43	45
Years of experience	-	2

What does a production worker do?

Production workers are employees who are usually seen in an assembly line in a company's factory. They are responsible for a specific part of the production of goods for the company. They ensure that production processes are being followed. Production workers are required to be efficient, detail-oriented, and organized. They should be able to uphold the quality standards set by the company and should be able to conduct quality control checks. Should they be working alongside machines, and they must know how to operate the machine as well as maintain it. Production workers should also be familiar with occupational safety and health guidelines and must be able to follow policies and procedures in place.

What does a production technician do?

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.

Production worker vs production technician salary

Production workers and production technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Production Worker	Production Technician
Average salary	$30,847	$37,550
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $38,000	Between $28,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Tacoma, WA	Frederick, MD
Highest paying state	Washington	Maryland
Best paying company	BD	Cornerstone Research
Best paying industry	Automotive	Health Care

Differences between production worker and production technician education

There are a few differences between a production worker and a production technician in terms of educational background:

	Production Worker	Production Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	Stanford University

Production worker vs production technician demographics

Here are the differences between production workers' and production technicians' demographics:

	Production Worker	Production Technician
Average age	43	45
Gender ratio	Male, 56.3% Female, 43.7%	Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	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%
LGBT Percentage	5%	6%

Differences between production worker and production technician duties and responsibilities

Production worker example responsibilities.

Manage and instruct workers in the art of food preparation as culinary team leader.
Require to know safe food practices like HACCP, and knowing USDA and FDA guidelines when handling and storing foods.
Use scribers, dividers, and squares to mark dimensions on material.
Produce glace, demi-glace and elite culinary sauces.
Handle parts that run off conveyors and are send for painting.
Operate large grinders, run high heat ovens, inspect and paint parts, packaging.

Production technician example responsibilities.

Relay to the oncoming shift everything accomplish and the projected workload through use of PowerPoint and excel.
Implement and develop safety standards and operations exceeding those require by OSHA.
Can demonstrate good manual dexterity.
Analyze QC test samples using multisizer machine.
Implement and oversee plant's safety program including LOTO program.
Test and repair rf system compponents of cellular test set.

Production worker vs production technician skills

Common production worker skills

Production Process, 15%
Safety Procedures, 10%
Assembly Line, 10%
Basic Math, 10%
Quality Standards, 6%
Pallet Jack, 5%

Common production technician skills

Hand Tools, 7%
Preventative Maintenance, 6%
Quality Checks, 5%
Production Equipment, 5%
Basic Math, 5%
Safety Procedures, 5%

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Production Worker vs Production Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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