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The differences between utility technicians and service technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a utility technician, becoming a service technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a service technician has an average salary of $40,379, which is higher than the $37,073 average annual salary of a utility technician.
The top three skills for a utility technician include customer service, ladders and safety procedures. The most important skills for a service technician are plumbing, customer service, and preventative maintenance.
| Utility Technician | Service Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,073 | $40,379 |
| Hourly rate | $17.82 | $19.41 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 121,895 | 254,533 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A utility technician performs various duties and responsibilities for an organization. These include inspecting utility infrastructure and reporting any deficiencies, auditing utility services and ensuring current standards are complied with, and updating and maintaining the utility information database. As a utility technician, you are responsible for coordinating projects and communicating results of finished projects, performing preventive maintenance, and diagnosing and troubleshooting equipment and system malfunctions. You are also responsible for conducting training and mentoring new utility technicians.
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.
Utility technicians and service technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Utility Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,073 | $40,379 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $28,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milwaukee, WI | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Anheuser-Busch | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a utility technician and a service technician in terms of educational background:
| Utility Technician | Service Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between utility technicians' and service technicians' demographics:
| Utility Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2% | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | 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 | 2% | 1% |