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The differences between repair technicians and bench technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a repair technician, becoming a bench technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a repair technician has an average salary of $41,643, which is higher than the $41,317 average annual salary of a bench technician.
The top three skills for a repair technician include customer service, hand tools and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a bench technician are troubleshoot, PC, and windows.
| Repair Technician | Bench Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $41,643 | $41,317 |
| Hourly rate | $20.02 | $19.86 |
| Growth rate | 5% | - |
| Number of jobs | 162,051 | 79,375 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 38% | Associate Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
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.
A Bench Technician specializes in installing, maintaining, and repairing electronic equipment and machinery. Although the extent of their responsibilities primarily depends on their place or employment industry, it typically includes conducting inspections and assessments, programming and troubleshooting systems, replacing and fixing components, and producing progress reports as needed. Moreover, a Bench Technician must maintain an active communication line with co-workers while adhering to its safety standards and regulations for a safe and efficient work environment.
Repair technicians and bench technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Repair Technician | Bench Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,643 | $41,317 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $63,000 | Between $29,000 And $57,000 |
| 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 repair technician and a bench technician in terms of educational background:
| Repair Technician | Bench Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 38% | Associate Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between repair technicians' and bench technicians' demographics:
| Repair Technician | Bench Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 2% | 8% |