Smog technician vs heavy vehicle technician

The differences between smog technicians and heavy vehicle 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 heavy vehicle technician. Additionally, a smog technician has an average salary of $39,758, which is higher than the $38,006 average annual salary of a heavy vehicle technician.

The top three skills for a smog technician include diagnosis, customer vehicles and customer service. The most important skills for a heavy vehicle technician are DOT, hand tools, and CDL.

Smog technician vs heavy vehicle technician overview

	Smog Technician	Heavy Vehicle Technician
Yearly salary	$39,758	$38,006
Hourly rate	$19.11	$18.27
Growth rate	9%	1%
Number of jobs	63,758	108,284
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 31%
Average age	38	40
Years of experience	2	2

Smog technician vs heavy vehicle technician salary

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

	Smog Technician	Heavy Vehicle Technician
Average salary	$39,758	$38,006
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $56,000	Between $27,000 And $51,000
Highest paying City	-	Foster City, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Bruce Transportation Group
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between smog technician and heavy vehicle technician education

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

	Smog Technician	Heavy Vehicle Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 31%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Automotive Technology
Most common college	-	-

Smog technician vs heavy vehicle technician demographics

Here are the differences between smog technicians' and heavy vehicle technicians' demographics:

	Smog Technician	Heavy Vehicle Technician
Average age	38	40
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 85.4% Female, 14.6%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	2%

Differences between smog technician and heavy vehicle 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.

Heavy vehicle technician example responsibilities.

Hire specifically to test and troubleshoot main components and sub assemblies.
Work though rotation of all branches of auto troubleshooting, diagnosis, and repair.
Assign with diagnosis and repair of chassis, electrical, hydraulic and water pump systems.
Inspect, test, troubleshoot, repair and adjust electrical, hydraulic, fire control, mechanical and firing systems.
Demonstrate dependability and reliability by being punctual, working assign shifts, and completing responsibilities in a timely manner.
repair vehicles for a/c brakes, hybrid vehicles, transmissions, electronic and computer diag

Smog technician vs heavy vehicle technician skills

Common smog technician skills

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

Common heavy vehicle technician skills

DOT, 12%
Hand Tools, 11%
CDL, 10%
Diagnosis, 5%
Electrical Troubleshooting, 4%
Preventive Maintenance, 4%

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Smog Technician vs Heavy Vehicle Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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