Smog technician vs certified technician

The differences between smog technicians and certified 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 a certified technician. Additionally, a certified technician has an average salary of $52,208, 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 a certified technician are A+, patients, and patient care.

Smog technician vs certified technician overview

	Smog Technician	Certified Technician
Yearly salary	$39,758	$52,208
Hourly rate	$19.11	$25.10
Growth rate	9%	1%
Number of jobs	63,758	140,083
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Average age	38	40
Years of experience	2	2

Smog technician vs certified technician salary

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

	Smog Technician	Certified Technician
Average salary	$39,758	$52,208
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $56,000	Between $32,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Connor Group
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between smog technician and certified technician education

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

	Smog Technician	Certified Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 33%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Automotive Technology
Most common college	-	-

Smog technician vs certified technician demographics

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

	Smog Technician	Certified Technician
Average age	38	40
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7%
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, 9.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	2%

Differences between smog technician and certified 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.

Certified technician example responsibilities.

Lead and architect MDM migration from Sybase Afaria to Airwatch.
Manage a crew of 5 service technicians, providing repair and maintenance services for all HVAC.
Attain and maintain advanced level ASE certification.
Manage daily repair activities for high-volume Honda repair facility.
Oil changes top and bottom side transmission services ac services engine flush and license inspector.
Utilize several trade skills such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical, painting, roofing and heating and cooling systems.

Smog technician vs certified technician skills

Common smog technician skills

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

Common certified technician skills

A+, 45%
Patients, 13%
Patient Care, 8%
Diagnosis, 5%
Customer Service, 2%
Customer Satisfaction, 2%

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Smog Technician
Smog Technician vs Certified Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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