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The differences between senior manufacturing associates and production technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior manufacturing associate and a production technician. Additionally, a senior manufacturing associate has an average salary of $62,504, which is higher than the $37,550 average annual salary of a production technician.
The top three skills for a senior manufacturing associate include GMP, cell culture and lean six sigma. The most important skills for a production technician are hand tools, preventative maintenance, and quality checks.
| Senior Manufacturing Associate | Production Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $62,504 | $37,550 |
| Hourly rate | $30.05 | $18.05 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 28,223 | 135,266 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
To become a senior manufacturing associate, you need to have structured ideas for the manufacturing process. You need to have excellent analytical skills to look after the manufacturing process of the company. As a senior manufacturing associate, you have to manage the raw materials for manufacturing operations, especially for GMP. Moreover, you need to ensure compliance with the ISO 9001/1400. You should also have the ability to run a variety of CNC machines for prototyping and production. Being a manufacturing associate, you also have the responsibility to assess the marketing applications to help the company get approval from the FDA.
A production technician is an individual who is responsible for assembling and testing manufactured goods before they are marketed to the general public. Production technicians usually work with manufacturing and quality assurance personnel to ensure that high-quality work standards are implemented by workers. By maintaining high-quality work, production technicians must implement up-to-date, efficient methods of production as well as production equipment maintenance procedures. They also schedule training for workers and educate them regularly on health and safety regulations.
Senior manufacturing associates and production technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Manufacturing Associate | Production Technician | |
| Average salary | $62,504 | $37,550 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $90,000 | Between $28,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Vacaville, CA | Frederick, MD |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Boehringer Ingelheim | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior manufacturing associate and a production technician in terms of educational background:
| Senior Manufacturing Associate | Production Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior manufacturing associates' and production technicians' demographics:
| Senior Manufacturing Associate | Production Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9% | Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 9.5% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |