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The differences between service mechanics and service writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a service mechanic, becoming a service writer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a service mechanic has an average salary of $47,240, which is higher than the $39,016 average annual salary of a service writer.
The top three skills for a service mechanic include customer service, preventative maintenance and hydraulic systems. The most important skills for a service writer are customer service, repair orders, and warranty claims.
| Service Mechanic | Service Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $47,240 | $39,016 |
| Hourly rate | $22.71 | $18.76 |
| Growth rate | 4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 116,383 | 163,441 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
A service mechanic, or often known as a service technician, is an individual who inspects, maintains, and repairs cars and light trucks. Service mechanics must identify the vehicle's problems by using computerized diagnostic equipment and test parts and systems to ensure that they work properly. They must perform basic vehicular care and maintenance such as changing oil, checking fluid levels, and rotating tires. Service mechanics should also explain automotive problems to customers and perform repairs according to the manufacturer ad customer specifications.
A service writer is an employee who acts as an informative middleman between a business owner and its customers in the automotive sector. To develop this relationship, service writers must provide successful management of product or service delivery to their customers. Service writers must correctly manage their scheduled appointments to avoid overwhelming their mechanics with incoming vehicular repairs while monitoring the service progress to avoid delivery delays. They must also know how to encode customer profile information into the computer system.
Service mechanics and service writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Mechanic | Service Writer | |
| Average salary | $47,240 | $39,016 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $66,000 | Between $24,000 And $61,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | College Park, MD |
| Highest paying state | California | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Sandia National Labs | American Institute of Physics |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a service mechanic and a service writer in terms of educational background:
| Service Mechanic | Service Writer | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between service mechanics' and service writers' demographics:
| Service Mechanic | Service Writer | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.8% Female, 3.2% | Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 2.4% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 5.8% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 7% |