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The differences between valve technicians and repair technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a valve technician, becoming a repair technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a repair technician has an average salary of $41,643, which is higher than the $41,020 average annual salary of a valve technician.
The top three skills for a valve technician include control valves, hand tools and actuators. The most important skills for a repair technician are customer service, hand tools, and customer satisfaction.
Valve technicians install regulating devices such as valves. They are responsible for monitoring, testing, and troubleshooting valves. Valves are essential controlling devices for plumbing in residential houses. In commercial and industrial buildings, valves may be required for regulating chemicals.
A repair technician's role focuses on assessing the problem or damage of a device and implementing solutions for it to function again. Although the extent of a technician's tasks will depend on the device or industry of employment, most of it revolves around troubleshooting, providing technical support, installing and writing programs, detaching and re-attaching wirings, welding, and even thoroughly discussing problems and solutions to clients. Furthermore, there are instances when a repair technician must work in a team setting that requires coordination and communication.
Valve technicians and repair technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Valve Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,020 | $41,643 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $59,000 | Between $27,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | - | SoCalGas |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a valve technician and a repair technician in terms of educational background:
| Valve Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 47% | Associate Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | General Studies | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between valve technicians' and repair technicians' demographics:
| Valve Technician | Repair Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.5% Female, 8.5% | Male, 88.3% Female, 11.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 2.0% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 2.4% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 2% |