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Senior instrument technician vs bench technician

The differences between senior instrument technicians and bench technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a senior instrument technician and a bench technician. Additionally, a senior instrument technician has an average salary of $80,934, which is higher than the $41,317 average annual salary of a bench technician.

The top three skills for a senior instrument technician include control systems, HMI and HVAC. The most important skills for a bench technician are troubleshoot, PC, and windows.

Senior instrument technician vs bench technician overview

Senior Instrument TechnicianBench Technician
Yearly salary$80,934$41,317
Hourly rate$38.91$19.86
Growth rate--
Number of jobs45,52679,375
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 49%Associate Degree, 55%
Average age5050
Years of experience1212

What does a senior instrument technician do?

As a senior instrument technician, you need to do general maintenance work on the equipment generation and design process of the company. You need to have excellent mapping and recording skills so that you can measure and record the equipment reading. As a senior instrument technician, you need to do your work precisely. This is because you are in the field of measurement and control.

You will also have to inspect repairing tests as well as record changes in the industrial environment of the company. You need to have great analytical skills so that you can solve complex instrumental problems and help in the overall development of the company system. A minimum of an associate's degree is required for this job.

What does a bench technician do?

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.

Senior instrument technician vs bench technician salary

Senior instrument technicians and bench technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Instrument TechnicianBench Technician
Average salary$80,934$41,317
Salary rangeBetween $55,000 And $117,000Between $29,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between senior instrument technician and bench technician education

There are a few differences between a senior instrument technician and a bench technician in terms of educational background:

Senior Instrument TechnicianBench Technician
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 49%Associate Degree, 55%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringElectrical Engineering
Most common collegeNortheastern UniversityNortheastern University

Senior instrument technician vs bench technician demographics

Here are the differences between senior instrument technicians' and bench technicians' demographics:

Senior Instrument TechnicianBench Technician
Average age5050
Gender ratioMale, 92.7% Female, 7.3%Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6%
Race ratioBlack 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, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between senior instrument technician and bench technician duties and responsibilities

Senior instrument technician example responsibilities.

  • Accomplish team sales of 464K in clinical chemistry and hematology instrumentation.
  • Assist in start-up of new equipment to ensure it meets all instrumentation design specifications.
  • Assist engineers in completion of instrumentation loop checks, IQ/OQ protocols, and start-up of process facilities.
  • Perform calibrations on pressure transmitters, temperature transmitters, actuator valves, level probes, flow transmitters and gas detection equipment
  • Sterilize instruments using specialize equipment including steam autoclaves, sonic washers, aerators, pasteurizers, gas sterilizers and acid sterilizers.
  • Experience using HPLC, GC, dissolution, UV-Vis, IR, and Sotax automate systems.
  • Show more

Bench technician example responsibilities.

  • Lead small teams in the development and installation of residential and commercial electrical and HVAC systems to include smart home systems.
  • Trouble-shoot and repair all boards to component level using oscilloscopes DMM's and spectrum analyzers.
  • Place fine pitch IC's and other parts as needed.
  • Repair pads and trace connectors on modems.
  • Repair and replace components within all iPhone models.
  • Experience reworking fine pitch devices and BGA components.
  • Show more

Senior instrument technician vs bench technician skills

Common senior instrument technician skills
  • Control Systems, 5%
  • HMI, 5%
  • HVAC, 5%
  • SCADA, 5%
  • GMP, 4%
  • Maximo, 4%
Common bench technician skills
  • Troubleshoot, 13%
  • PC, 8%
  • Windows, 6%
  • Circuit Boards, 6%
  • Test Equipment, 5%
  • Component Level Repair, 4%

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