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The differences between shop assistants and shop technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a shop assistant, becoming a shop technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a shop technician has an average salary of $36,798, which is higher than the $31,216 average annual salary of a shop assistant.
The top three skills for a shop assistant include customer vehicles, CNC and customer service. The most important skills for a shop technician are preventative maintenance, routine maintenance, and diagnosis.
| Shop Assistant | Shop Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $31,216 | $36,798 |
| Hourly rate | $15.01 | $17.69 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 11,156 | 150,349 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
A shop assistant is primarily responsible for handling customers and maintaining the upkeep of a sales floor in a retail store. They are in charge of greeting customers, answering inquiries, offering assistance, recommending products, and handling complaints. A shop assistant also has duties that involve receiving, verifying, processing, and sorting shipments from suppliers, managing inventory, and re-stocking shelves while keeping them presentable. To maintain the sales floor's cleanliness, a shop assistant may also perform light chores and keep all equipment organized. Furthermore, it is essential to accomplish tasks while adhering to the policies and regulations of the company.
Shop Technicians are skilled workers assigned to a retail store. Their main activities depend on the nature of the business their company is in. Usually, Shop Technicians work with machines in the shop. They conduct repair and maintenance work for machines that have long been in the shop. They are also in charge of installing and building new machines as well. Shop Technicians are assigned to manage records of such machines or s other mechanical items in the store. This is part of the administrative activities they may do for the shop.
Shop assistants and shop technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shop Assistant | Shop Technician | |
| Average salary | $31,216 | $36,798 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $38,000 | Between $25,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Spokane, WA | San Leandro, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Steel Dynamics | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Energy |
There are a few differences between a shop assistant and a shop technician in terms of educational background:
| Shop Assistant | Shop Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Business | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between shop assistants' and shop technicians' demographics:
| Shop Assistant | Shop Technician | |
| Average age | 39 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% | Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 2.4% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 2% |