Prototype technician vs engineering technician

The differences between prototype technicians and engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a prototype technician, becoming an engineering technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an engineering technician has an average salary of $60,273, 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 an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.

Prototype technician vs engineering technician overview

	Prototype Technician	Engineering Technician
Yearly salary	$45,071	$60,273
Hourly rate	$21.67	$28.98
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	48,310	111,343
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	50	45
Years of experience	12	4

Prototype technician vs engineering technician salary

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

	Prototype Technician	Engineering Technician
Average salary	$45,071	$60,273
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $58,000	Between $37,000 And $96,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Western Digital
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between prototype technician and engineering technician education

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

	Prototype Technician	Engineering Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Purdue University	Purdue University

Prototype technician vs engineering technician demographics

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

	Prototype Technician	Engineering Technician
Average age	50	45
Gender ratio	Male, 87.3% Female, 12.7%	Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1%
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, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between prototype technician and engineering 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.

Engineering technician example responsibilities.

Used Microsoft SharePoint to manage projects, web base collaboration, alerts and for document management.
Achieve UL certification for thermal overload protection used in motor applications.
Manage equipment database and organize annual equipment calibration require by internal quality control and ISO standards.
Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Maintain engineering lab equipment: troubleshoot and repair any faulty electronic or mechanical malfunctions, and calibrate test equipment.
Specialize in software and hardware engineering to military standards and project management of DoD contracts.

Prototype technician vs engineering technician skills

Common prototype technician skills

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

Common engineering technician skills

Technical Support, 5%
Data Collection, 4%
Test Equipment, 4%
Asphalt, 4%
Construction Projects, 4%
Construction Materials, 4%

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Prototype Technician
Prototype Technician vs Engineering Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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