Smog technician vs master technician

The differences between smog technicians and master 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 master technician. Additionally, a master technician has an average salary of $97,027, 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 master technician are strong customer service, customer vehicles, and engine performance.

Smog technician vs master technician overview

	Smog Technician	Master Technician
Yearly salary	$39,758	$97,027
Hourly rate	$19.11	$46.65
Growth rate	9%	1%
Number of jobs	63,758	137,644
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 32%	Associate Degree, 33%
Average age	38	40
Years of experience	2	2

Smog technician vs master technician salary

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

	Smog Technician	Master Technician
Average salary	$39,758	$97,027
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $56,000	Between $62,000 And $150,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Teradata
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between smog technician and master technician education

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

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

Smog technician vs master technician demographics

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

	Smog Technician	Master Technician
Average age	38	40
Gender ratio	Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%
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, 9.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	2%

Differences between smog technician and master 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.

Master technician example responsibilities.

Manage daily repair activities for high-volume Honda repair facility.
Diagnose, estimate and repair Toyota cars and trucks, quality control.
Plan and perform maintenance, troubleshooting and repair on a variety of BMW brand motorcycles.
Diagnose, inspect and repair air conditioning and heating (HVAC) problems on manual and automatic systems.
Attend necessary Toyota classes in order to excel in diagnosing and repairing all emerging models of the Toyota products.
Perform all aspects of repairs, including but not limit to engines, drive trains, brakes and HVAC systems.

Smog technician vs master technician skills

Common smog technician skills

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

Common master technician skills

Strong Customer Service, 29%
Customer Vehicles, 20%
Engine Performance, 5%
Maintenance Services, 4%
ASE, 3%
Diagnostic Equipment, 2%

Smog Technician vs. similar jobs

Smog Technician related careers

Smog Technician related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Smog Technician
Smog Technician vs Master Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs