Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between program instructors and technical instructors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a program instructor and a technical instructor. Additionally, a technical instructor has an average salary of $68,086, which is higher than the $42,380 average annual salary of a program instructor.
The top three skills for a program instructor include patients, K-12 and math. The most important skills for a technical instructor are kids, professional development, and curriculum development.
| Program Instructor | Technical Instructor | |
| Yearly salary | $42,380 | $68,086 |
| Hourly rate | $20.38 | $32.73 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 92,369 | 103,399 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A program instructor is responsible for facilitating indoor and outdoor programs with various goals and objectives catering to different participants. Program instructors must have excellent communication skills, especially on gaining the participants' attention and engaging them to join the activities prepared for the day. They also maintain a safe and creative learning environment for everyone, observing each participant's behavior and interests, developing group cooperation, and fostering personal development. A program instructor reiterates safety procedures and regulations during the program for everyone's strict compliance and immediately addresses conflicts soon as they arise.
Technical instructor or trainer assists the training managers in educating and training technical employees to become competent and technically skilled workers. This job requires strong verbal communication, good teaching skills, and the ability to inspire and motivate learners since it involves skills assessments to track the progress of trainees individually. Also, a technical instructor regularly attends educational workshops and reviews publications to maintain his/her /her technical knowledge and quality service and to be able to design computer training manuals more effectively.
Program instructors and technical instructors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Instructor | Technical Instructor | |
| Average salary | $42,380 | $68,086 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $60,000 | Between $43,000 And $106,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | Berkeley, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Pace University |
| Best paying industry | Education | Energy |
There are a few differences between a program instructor and a technical instructor in terms of educational background:
| Program Instructor | Technical Instructor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between program instructors' and technical instructors' demographics:
| Program Instructor | Technical Instructor | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.7% Female, 60.3% | Male, 68.2% Female, 31.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 11.2% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 11.2% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |