Reliability technician vs engineering technician

The differences between reliability 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 reliability 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 $50,168 average annual salary of a reliability technician.

The top three skills for a reliability technician include troubleshoot, preventative maintenance and hand tools. The most important skills for an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.

Reliability technician vs engineering technician overview

	Reliability Technician	Engineering Technician
Yearly salary	$50,168	$60,273
Hourly rate	$24.12	$28.98
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	38,743	111,343
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	50	45
Years of experience	12	4

What does a reliability technician do?

Reliability technicians are responsible for helping enhance quality, improve safety, and implement the constant development of projects to maximize output. They collaborate with engineers and lead maintenance technicians to do continuing the system development. Their duties include giving technical assistance and input in engineering project management services. Also, they systematize and direct work assigned to make certain immediate feedback to repairs, fast identification of faults, and prompt action to repairs. Additionally, they plan, establish, and coordinate work by contractors and other associates.

What does an engineering technician do?

An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.

Reliability technician vs engineering technician salary

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

	Reliability Technician	Engineering Technician
Average salary	$50,168	$60,273
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $67,000	Between $37,000 And $96,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Washington
Best paying company	Apple	Western Digital
Best paying industry	Automotive	Technology

Differences between reliability technician and engineering technician education

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

	Reliability Technician	Engineering Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Purdue University

Reliability technician vs engineering technician demographics

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

	Reliability Technician	Engineering Technician
Average age	50	45
Gender ratio	Male, 88.1% Female, 11.9%	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 reliability technician and engineering technician duties and responsibilities

Reliability technician example responsibilities.

Manage and analyze the SEO, SEM and analytics programs for both defensive and offensive marketing opportunities.
Experience in FDA cGMP standards, PAPR, and DEA clearances.
Used computer skills on a daily basis creating spreadsheets and charts for updating CMMS.
Develop a new PC rollout process for the team when replacing computers throughout the mill.
Perform standard lab tests using UV, humidity, hardness, gas and temperature chambers on metals and plastics.
Monitor the status of assign projects, troubleshoot incidents to determine possible source and initiate test incident report if require.

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.

Reliability technician vs engineering technician skills

Common reliability technician skills

Troubleshoot, 13%
Preventative Maintenance, 10%
Hand Tools, 5%
Ultrasound, 5%
Production Equipment, 4%
Data Collection, 4%

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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Reliability Technician
Reliability Technician vs Engineering Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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