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The differences between utility technicians and trainees 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 trainee takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a trainee has an average salary of $39,185, 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 trainee are customer service, CDL, and training programs.
| Utility Technician | Trainee | |
| Yearly salary | $37,073 | $39,185 |
| Hourly rate | $17.82 | $18.84 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 121,895 | 51,490 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 47 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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.
Trainees' general responsibility is to familiarize themselves with the best practices and processes of their chosen careers. Some of the trainee's duties include shadowing with a tenured employee to understand various tasks, taking practical examinations to test knowledge extent, maintaining the eagerness to learn and a positive working attitude, assisting with customer inquiries, escalating concerns, and maintaining record progress. A trainee should be a team player, a fast learner, and the ability to handle constructive criticisms for improvement.
Utility technicians and trainees have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Utility Technician | Trainee | |
| Average salary | $37,073 | $39,185 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $27,000 And $55,000 |
| Highest paying City | Milwaukee, WI | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Anheuser-Busch | Clifford Chance |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a utility technician and a trainee in terms of educational background:
| Utility Technician | Trainee | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 32% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between utility technicians' and trainees' demographics:
| Utility Technician | Trainee | |
| Average age | 47 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2% | Male, 56.4% Female, 43.6% |
| 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, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 13.8% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 9% |