Prototype technician vs calibration technician

The differences between prototype technicians and calibration technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a prototype technician and a calibration technician. Additionally, a calibration technician has an average salary of $46,908, which is higher than the $45,071 average annual salary of a prototype technician.

The top three skills for a prototype technician include CAD, hand tools and CNC. The most important skills for a calibration technician are metrology, customer service, and calibration procedures.

Prototype technician vs calibration technician overview

	Prototype Technician	Calibration Technician
Yearly salary	$45,071	$46,908
Hourly rate	$21.67	$22.55
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	48,310	48,741
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Associate Degree, 48%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	12	12

Prototype technician vs calibration technician salary

Prototype technicians and calibration technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Prototype Technician	Calibration Technician
Average salary	$45,071	$46,908
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $58,000	Between $35,000 And $62,000
Highest paying City	-	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Boehringer Ingelheim
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between prototype technician and calibration technician education

There are a few differences between a prototype technician and a calibration technician in terms of educational background:

	Prototype Technician	Calibration Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Associate Degree, 48%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Purdue University	Northeastern University

Prototype technician vs calibration technician demographics

Here are the differences between prototype technicians' and calibration technicians' demographics:

	Prototype Technician	Calibration Technician
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 87.3% Female, 12.7%	Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between prototype technician and calibration technician duties and responsibilities

Prototype technician example responsibilities.

Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Wire and solder all connections to FDA standards.
Finish SLA and SLS parts for mold development.
Experience in reading micrometers, calipers, and blueprints.
Assist purchasing department in outside vendor (PCB fabrication) operations
Use precision measuring tools including calipers, gages, and torques.

Calibration technician example responsibilities.

Comply with good laboratory practices FDA, QSR, ISO, safety and environmental regulations.
Calibrate and repair general-purpose and RF test, measurement, & diagnostic equipment (TMDE) and microwave passive standards.
Calibrate basic mechanical and electrical measurement instruments, such as calipers, micrometers and voltage-current-resistance meters.
Perform calibration and maintenance of measuring equipment including micrometers, calipers and drop indicators among others.
Maintain standards in accordance with cGMP, USP, JP and ISO.
Install MCC's, VFD's, motors, and Allen Bradley PLC's.

Prototype technician vs calibration technician skills

Common prototype technician skills

CAD, 11%
Hand Tools, 10%
CNC, 7%
Prototyping, 6%
Calipers, 6%
Autoclaves, 6%

Common calibration technician skills

Metrology, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Calibration Procedures, 6%
Troubleshoot, 6%
Hand Tools, 4%
Equipment Calibration, 4%

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Prototype Technician vs Calibration Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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