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The differences between repair technicians and computer repair 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 computer repair technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a repair technician has an average salary of $41,643, which is higher than the $32,627 average annual salary of a computer repair technician.
The top three skills for a repair technician include customer service, hand tools and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a computer repair technician are troubleshoot, laptop computers, and computer system.
| Repair Technician | Computer Repair Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $41,643 | $32,627 |
| Hourly rate | $20.02 | $15.69 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 162,051 | 109,196 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 38% | Associate Degree, 41% |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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 computer repair technician installs, repairs, and maintains different computer equipment. Computer repair technicians repair and maintain computers and their servers. The technicians are responsible for configuring and building new hardware as well as installing and updating software packages. They have to be updated on the ever-evolving technology for certain job analysis and troubleshooting. Good computer repair technicians are investigative who are introspective, inquisitive, and intellectual. They are also methodical, logical, rational, and curious.
Repair technicians and computer repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Repair Technician | Computer Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,643 | $32,627 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $63,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Saint Paul, MN |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Minnesota |
| Best paying company | SoCalGas | Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a repair technician and a computer repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Repair Technician | Computer Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 38% | Associate Degree, 41% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | - | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between repair technicians' and computer repair technicians' demographics:
| Repair Technician | Computer Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% | Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0% |
| 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, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 10.7% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 11% |