What is the difference between Technician and Technologist?

Technologists design, plan, and fabricate better things while technicians execute the plans and do all the manual labor. Technologists use their intelligence to develop new things, whereas technicians rely on their practical skills to maintain and solve problems with the technologist’s ideas. Technologists possess intellectual skills, whereas technicians manage the order and preservation of their work — technologists design ideas into reality.

Technicians use practical conceptions and applications. To be certified as a technologist, one requires a minimal qualification degree of which four to five years of coursework is necessary. Their knowledge of technology is specialized and abundant.

If you are not well informed about the real differences between a technician and a technologist, you might simply think the two terms are representing the same thing. Although both terms are interrelated, they are not totally the same. Let's first look at what they mean. A technician is a person who studies and practices technology. A technician adopts a practical approach to technology, and as such, he knows more of principles and methods of things that deal with technology.

A technologist, on the other hand, can either be a scientist or an engineer who uses technology in a particular field or specializes in a particular technology. A technologist seems to know more of technological principles than a technician. Most of the time, a technician works under a technologist. Another difference is that a technologist passes through a course of study for approximately five years, while a technician spends between 2 to 4 years to get his certificate

A technician is a person who understands technology. They have a good knowledge of the principles in the field. Technologists are above technicians and have a greater role. They have knowledge of other various technologies. Technologists have more education with an engineering degree, while technicians can just have a certificate. Technician courses can last one to two years and technologist courses can last up to five years.

Technologists have more duties than technicians. They are responsible for more creative ideas. They also handle more complex work than technicians. Technologists are also looked at as a team leader to the technicians.