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The differences between relay technicians and repair technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a relay technician and a repair technician. Additionally, a relay technician has an average salary of $68,823, which is higher than the $41,643 average annual salary of a repair technician.
The top three skills for a relay technician include transformers, SCADA and test equipment. The most important skills for a repair technician are customer service, hand tools, and customer satisfaction.
| Relay Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $68,823 | $41,643 |
| Hourly rate | $33.09 | $20.02 |
| Growth rate | -1% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 57,914 | 162,051 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 43% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 37 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Relay technicians do relay maintenance and repairs in electrical power stations. The technicians repair circuit breakers, test various components, calibrate generators, and replace wires. They make sure that electricity is routed through the electrical station towards commercial or residential areas at the right voltage. They read electrical schematics and diagrams to learn the issues and utilize the information for the installation of new components. Skills needed for this job include communication, attention to detail, and electrical knowledge.
A repair technician's role focuses on assessing the problem or damage of a device and implementing solutions for it to function again. Although the extent of a technician's tasks will depend on the device or industry of employment, most of it revolves around troubleshooting, providing technical support, installing and writing programs, detaching and re-attaching wirings, welding, and even thoroughly discussing problems and solutions to clients. Furthermore, there are instances when a repair technician must work in a team setting that requires coordination and communication.
Relay technicians and repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Relay Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $68,823 | $41,643 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $120,000 | Between $27,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | SoCalGas |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a relay technician and a repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Relay Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 43% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | New Mexico State University | - |
Here are the differences between relay technicians' and repair technicians' demographics:
| Relay Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 37 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.5% Female, 7.5% | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.5% Unknown, 7.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 3.9% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 2% |