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The differences between senior instrument technicians and electronic test 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 an electronic test technician. Additionally, a senior instrument technician has an average salary of $80,934, which is higher than the $43,020 average annual salary of an electronic test technician.
The top three skills for a senior instrument technician include control systems, HMI and HVAC. The most important skills for an electronic test technician are RF, oscilloscopes, and test procedures.
| Senior Instrument Technician | Electronic Test Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $80,934 | $43,020 |
| Hourly rate | $38.91 | $20.68 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 45,526 | 49,129 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Associate Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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.
An Electronics Test Technician is responsible for testing and troubleshooting electronic equipment, components, and parts. As an Electronics Test Technician, you will investigate issues related to process control, SCADA systems, and instrumentation and suggest effective solutions. You will be responsible for analyzing and repairing broken printed circuit boards (PCB) and creating documentation for the testing of PCB assemblies. Other duties include compiling product reports and presenting these to the company heads, ensuring to maintain testing equipment, and performing multipoint safety inspections of products.
Senior instrument technicians and electronic test technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Instrument Technician | Electronic Test Technician | |
| Average salary | $80,934 | $43,020 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $117,000 | Between $32,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Bethesda, MD |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | Sandia National Labs |
| Best paying industry | - | Energy |
There are a few differences between a senior instrument technician and an electronic test technician in terms of educational background:
| Senior Instrument Technician | Electronic Test Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Associate Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between senior instrument technicians' and electronic test technicians' demographics:
| Senior Instrument Technician | Electronic Test Technician | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.7% Female, 7.3% | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% |
| 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, 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 | 8% | 8% |