Surfacing technician vs electronics technician

The differences between surfacing technicians and electronics technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a surfacing technician and an electronics technician. Additionally, an electronics technician has an average salary of $46,660, which is higher than the $37,226 average annual salary of a surfacing technician.

The top three skills for a surfacing technician include circuit board assembly, SMT and safety regulations. The most important skills for an electronics technician are hand tools, RF, and ladders.

Surfacing technician vs electronics technician overview

	Surfacing Technician	Electronics Technician
Yearly salary	$37,226	$46,660
Hourly rate	$17.90	$22.43
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	39,793	83,284
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 37%	Associate Degree, 52%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	12	12

Surfacing technician vs electronics technician salary

Surfacing technicians and electronics technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Surfacing Technician	Electronics Technician
Average salary	$37,226	$46,660
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $48,000	Between $32,000 And $66,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Montana
Best paying company	-	Jacobs Engineering Group
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between surfacing technician and electronics technician education

There are a few differences between a surfacing technician and an electronics technician in terms of educational background:

	Surfacing Technician	Electronics Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 37%	Associate Degree, 52%
Most common major	Business	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Stanford University	Northeastern University

Surfacing technician vs electronics technician demographics

Here are the differences between surfacing technicians' and electronics technicians' demographics:

	Surfacing Technician	Electronics Technician
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 75.1% Female, 24.9%	Male, 91.4% Female, 8.6%
Race ratio	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%	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 surfacing technician and electronics technician duties and responsibilities

Surfacing technician example responsibilities.

Install and manage windows applications for the user, maintain servers and manage help desk operations.
Full knowledge of VCD machine, stuffing IC's into bare PC boards.
Program and operates AOI machine.
Assemble thru-hole and surface mount PC boards.
Operate under ESD guidelines and according to standard operating procedures.
Build and maintain programs for automatic inspection machines (AOI).

Electronics technician example responsibilities.

Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Diagnose and troubleshoot malfunctions in electrical and electronic components.
Calibrate, troubleshoot and repair professional electronic test equipment: oscilloscopes, oscillators and pulse generators.
Utilize a wide array of test equipment including oscilloscopes, signal generators, and communications monitors.
Assemble electronic components onto print circuit boards with aid of PCB component location prints and engineer assembly documentation.
Help tutor other students in writing, math and electronics.

Surfacing technician vs electronics technician skills

Common surfacing technician skills

Circuit Board Assembly, 15%
SMT, 14%
Safety Regulations, 8%
IPC, 6%
PCB, 4%
RAN, 4%

Common electronics technician skills

Hand Tools, 6%
RF, 5%
Ladders, 4%
Preventive Maintenance, 4%
Oscilloscopes, 4%
PLC, 4%

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Surfacing Technician
Surfacing Technician vs Electronics Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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