Smog technician vs alignment technician

The differences between smog technicians and alignment 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 smog technician and an alignment technician. Additionally, a smog technician has an average salary of $39,758, which is higher than the $38,020 average annual salary of an alignment technician.

The top three skills for a smog technician include diagnosis, customer vehicles and customer service. The most important skills for an alignment technician are customer service, hand tools, and power steering.

Smog technician vs alignment technician overview

	Smog Technician	Alignment Technician
Yearly salary	$39,758	$38,020
Hourly rate	$19.11	$18.28
Growth rate	9%	1%
Number of jobs	63,758	143,585
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 40%
Average age	38	40
Years of experience	2	2

Smog technician vs alignment technician salary

Smog technicians and alignment technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Smog Technician	Alignment Technician
Average salary	$39,758	$38,020
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $56,000	Between $25,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between smog technician and alignment technician education

There are a few differences between a smog technician and an alignment technician in terms of educational background:

	Smog Technician	Alignment Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 40%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Automotive Technology
Most common college	-	-

Smog technician vs alignment technician demographics

Here are the differences between smog technicians' and alignment technicians' demographics:

	Smog Technician	Alignment Technician
Average age	38	40
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 95.9% Female, 4.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 12.3% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	8%	2%

Differences between smog technician and alignment technician duties and responsibilities

Smog technician example responsibilities.

Manage daily repair activities for high-volume Honda repair facility.
Perform routine maintenance and advance diagnosis on customer cars.
Work with AutoCAD, set up designs and sending information to vinyl printer sending to plotter.
Certify Pass/Fail vehicles, and perform diagnosis and repair for failing vehicles to meet the minimum requirement for air pollution.
Repair Chrysler LLC vehicles with manufacture support diagnostic information and factory service procedures in a fast pace shop environment.
Repair Chrysler LLC vehicles with manufacture support diagnostic information and factory service procedures in a fast pace shop environment.

Alignment technician example responsibilities.

Repair wheels using grinders, sanders and paint equipment.
Straighten bend or damage alloy wheels.
Assist with MIG welding and exhaust work.
Perform all general lube and oil filter changes.
Used a grinder and DA sanders to remove damage from rims.
Clean and resize bearing fillet and dust guard seat using various grinders.

Smog technician vs alignment technician skills

Common smog technician skills

Diagnosis, 45%
Customer Vehicles, 15%
Customer Service, 15%
R, 7%
Oil Changes, 4%
ASE, 3%

Common alignment technician skills

Customer Service, 39%
Hand Tools, 34%
Power Steering, 10%
Customer Vehicles, 6%
Customer Satisfaction, 4%
Diagnosis, 1%

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Smog Technician
Smog Technician vs Alignment Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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