Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technical testing engineers and engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a technical testing engineer and an engineering technician. Additionally, a technical testing engineer has an average salary of $88,367, which is higher than the $60,273 average annual salary of an engineering technician.
The top three skills for a technical testing engineer include test results, schematics and test procedures. The most important skills for an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.
| Technical Testing Engineer | Engineering Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $88,367 | $60,273 |
| Hourly rate | $42.48 | $28.98 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 100,815 | 111,343 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A technical testing engineer is responsible for inspecting and reporting the quality of products across the production cycle. You will thoroughly check procedures, materials, and electrical and mechanical systems to produce high-quality products for customers. Your main job is to test various components and features of the product to identify and resolve technical issues. Other duties include organizing and conducting training for junior team members, creating test environments, and identifying the root cause of technical issues.
An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.
Technical testing engineers and engineering technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Testing Engineer | Engineering Technician | |
| Average salary | $88,367 | $60,273 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $125,000 | Between $37,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Issaquah, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Western Digital | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical testing engineer and an engineering technician in terms of educational background:
| Technical Testing Engineer | Engineering Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Purdue University |
Here are the differences between technical testing engineers' and engineering technicians' demographics:
| Technical Testing Engineer | Engineering Technician | |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.7% Female, 10.3% | Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 11.8% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 6% |