Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between smog technicians and automotive repair 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 automotive repair technician. Additionally, an automotive repair technician has an average salary of $43,699, 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 automotive repair technician are diagnosis, professional work, and hand tools.
| Smog Technician | Automotive Repair Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $39,758 | $43,699 |
| Hourly rate | $19.11 | $21.01 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 63,758 | 160,366 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Smog technicians and automotive repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Smog Technician | Automotive Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $39,758 | $43,699 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $56,000 | Between $29,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Fairfield, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah |
| Best paying industry | - | Retail |
There are a few differences between a smog technician and an automotive repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Smog Technician | Automotive Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between smog technicians' and automotive repair technicians' demographics:
| Smog Technician | Automotive Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 38 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3% | Male, 94.2% Female, 5.8% |
| 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, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.7% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 2% |