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The differences between shop technicians and field technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a shop technician, becoming a field technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a field technician has an average salary of $37,520, which is higher than the $36,798 average annual salary of a shop technician.
The top three skills for a shop technician include preventative maintenance, routine maintenance and diagnosis. The most important skills for a field technician are customer service, ladders, and test equipment.
| Shop Technician | Field Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $36,798 | $37,520 |
| Hourly rate | $17.69 | $18.04 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 150,349 | 123,149 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
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.
A field technician is responsible for providing technical and maintenance support for the customers by area visits. Field technicians' duties include diagnosing technical problems, replacing malfunction components, upgrading systems for efficiency, running equipment tests to ensure stability, creating draft reports of performed processes, utilizing vehicles and other tools safely, following client's specifications on operating equipment, and adhering to the safety standards. A field technician must have excellent communication and decision-making skills, as well as extensive knowledge of the technological industry.
Shop technicians and field technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Shop Technician | Field Technician | |
| Average salary | $36,798 | $37,520 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $53,000 | Between $28,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Leandro, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | DCP Midstream |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Energy |
There are a few differences between a shop technician and a field technician in terms of educational background:
| Shop Technician | Field Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 30% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between shop technicians' and field technicians' demographics:
| Shop Technician | Field Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.9% Female, 8.1% | Male, 88.5% Female, 11.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 1.7% White, 71.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 1% |