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The differences between senior instrument technicians and instrument 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 instrument technician. Additionally, a senior instrument technician has an average salary of $80,934, which is higher than the $56,918 average annual salary of an instrument technician.
The top three skills for a senior instrument technician include control systems, HMI and HVAC. The most important skills for an instrument technician are patients, surgical instruments, and cleanliness.
| Senior Instrument Technician | Instrument Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $80,934 | $56,918 |
| Hourly rate | $38.91 | $27.36 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 45,526 | 45,965 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Associate Degree, 48% |
| 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 instrument technician is an individual who is responsible for testing, repairing, and inspecting all manufacturing equipment to ensure proper operations of the machines. Instrument technicians collaborate with engineers to develop and produce equipment design and provide advice to process technicians about equipment operation. They remove defective equipment so that they can decontaminate and replace the damaged ones with new machines. They are also required by their employer to obtain certification in the field of instrumentation technology.
Senior instrument technicians and instrument technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Instrument Technician | Instrument Technician | |
| Average salary | $80,934 | $56,918 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $117,000 | Between $38,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | Phillips 66 |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a senior instrument technician and an instrument technician in terms of educational background:
| Senior Instrument Technician | Instrument Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 49% | Associate Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Northeastern University |
Here are the differences between senior instrument technicians' and instrument technicians' demographics:
| Senior Instrument Technician | Instrument Technician | |
| Average age | 50 | 50 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 92.7% Female, 7.3% | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% |
| 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% |