Smog technician vs instrument technician apprentice

The differences between smog technicians and instrument technician apprentices can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a smog technician, becoming an instrument technician apprentice takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an instrument technician apprentice has an average salary of $39,849, 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 instrument technician apprentice are hand tools, customer satisfaction, and diagnosis.

Smog technician vs instrument technician apprentice overview

	Smog Technician	Instrument Technician Apprentice
Yearly salary	$39,758	$39,849
Hourly rate	$19.11	$19.16
Growth rate	9%	-
Number of jobs	63,758	130,235
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 28%
Average age	38	50
Years of experience	2	12

Smog technician vs instrument technician apprentice salary

Smog technicians and instrument technician apprentices have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Smog Technician	Instrument Technician Apprentice
Average salary	$39,758	$39,849
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $56,000	Between $27,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	-	Hayward, CA
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Accenture
Best paying industry	-	Automotive

Differences between smog technician and instrument technician apprentice education

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

	Smog Technician	Instrument Technician Apprentice
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 28%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Automotive Technology
Most common college	-	-

Smog technician vs instrument technician apprentice demographics

Here are the differences between smog technicians' and instrument technician apprentices' demographics:

	Smog Technician	Instrument Technician Apprentice
Average age	38	50
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 89.9% Female, 10.1%
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, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 8.0% White, 70.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between smog technician and instrument technician apprentice 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.

Instrument technician apprentice example responsibilities.

Achieve multiple ASE certifications within first year of employment.
Maintain the cleanliness of the shop.
Train, working under ASE certification standards.
Wire low volt and high volt generators for caterpillar.
Unload vehicles by driving and by the use of cranes.
Install HD brand and aftermarket, chrome and billet, parts and accessories.

Smog technician vs instrument technician apprentice skills

Common smog technician skills

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

Common instrument technician apprentice skills

Hand Tools, 8%
Customer Satisfaction, 8%
Diagnosis, 7%
OSHA, 7%
Cleanliness, 7%
Customer Vehicles, 6%

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Smog Technician vs Instrument Technician Apprentice

Updated January 8, 2025

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