Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between technician's helpers and service 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 technician's helper and a service technician. Additionally, a service technician has an average salary of $40,379, which is higher than the $36,448 average annual salary of a technician's helper.
The top three skills for a technician's helper include customer service, HVAC and safety regulations. The most important skills for a service technician are plumbing, customer service, and preventative maintenance.
| Technician's Helper | Service Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $36,448 | $40,379 |
| Hourly rate | $17.52 | $19.41 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 81,564 | 254,533 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Average age | 50 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A technician's helper primarily performs support tasks to assist technicians in carrying out various installations and repairs, learning technical skills along the way. They usually prepare and arrange tools and equipment, set-up and clean work areas, understand blueprints and schematics, troubleshoot issues, assemble materials, and fix and replace components under the technician's supervision. There are also times when they must coordinate with clients to identify their needs and preferences. Moreover, depending on their organization of employment, a technician's helper may also perform minimal clerical tasks such as handling calls, answering inquiries, or purchasing the necessary materials.
Service technicians are assigned in the field to address the concerns of their clients. Service technicians are responsible for the installation, maintenance, or repair of different units or items related to their company's products or services. They should be familiar with their company's products so that they can properly install, maintain, or repair them. They conduct diagnostics and analysis to assess the condition of the unit they are servicing and properly address problems. They also do routine maintenance check-ups. Service technicians are expected to be trustworthy, have good analytical skills, and have good decision-making skills.
Technician's helpers and service technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technician's Helper | Service Technician | |
| Average salary | $36,448 | $40,379 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $58,000 | Between $28,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | Merced, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | PNM Resources | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technician's helper and a service technician in terms of educational background:
| Technician's Helper | Service Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Most common major | Automotive Technology | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between technician's helpers' and service technicians' demographics:
| Technician's Helper | Service Technician | |
| Average age | 50 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.7% Female, 12.3% | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 64.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 1.7% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 1% |