Smog technician vs automobile technician

The differences between smog technicians and automobile 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 automobile technician. Additionally, an automobile technician has an average salary of $39,815, which is higher than the $39,758 average annual salary of a smog technician.

The top three skills for a smog technician include diagnosis, customer vehicles and customer service. The most important skills for an automobile technician are oil changes, preventive maintenance, and engine tune-ups.

Smog technician vs automobile technician overview

	Smog Technician	Automobile Technician
Yearly salary	$39,758	$39,815
Hourly rate	$19.11	$19.14
Growth rate	9%	1%
Number of jobs	63,758	75,140
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Associate Degree, 33%
Average age	38	40
Years of experience	2	2

Smog technician vs automobile technician salary

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

	Smog Technician	Automobile Technician
Average salary	$39,758	$39,815
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $56,000	Between $26,000 And $59,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between smog technician and automobile technician education

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

	Smog Technician	Automobile Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Associate Degree, 33%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Automotive Technology
Most common college	-	-

Smog technician vs automobile technician demographics

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

	Smog Technician	Automobile Technician
Average age	38	40
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 97.8% Female, 2.2%
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, 9.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	2%

Differences between smog technician and automobile 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.

Automobile technician example responsibilities.

Inspect cars, service and repairs specializing in BMW repairs, manage shop, price and order parts, customer service
Position: ASE certify automobile technician.
Service Toyota, domestic imports to rental trucks, preventative maintenance
Earn certifications through manufacturer and ASE classes/testing.
Perform extensive diagnosis and repair of automotive electrical systems.
Specialize in electronic and mechanical fuel injection systems and automatic transmission diagnosis and repair (foreign and domestic).

Smog technician vs automobile technician skills

Common smog technician skills

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

Common automobile technician skills

Oil Changes, 15%
Preventive Maintenance, 9%
Engine Tune-Ups, 8%
Diagnosis, 6%
Shop Equipment, 5%
Automotive Repair, 5%

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Smog Technician
Smog Technician vs Automobile Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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