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A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skills and techniques, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles.
Duties and functions
Though less socially prestigious than a white collar professional, technicians play as major support roles in professions such as engineering, accountancy, nursing, medicine, architecture, and law. For instance, a dental technician is viewed of lower social status and a lower level of respect compared to a dentist. Experienced technicians in a specific tool domain typically have intermediate understanding of theory and expert proficiency in technique. As such, technicians are generally better versed in technique compared to average laymen and even general professionals in that field of technology. For example, although audio technicians are not as learned in acoustics as acoustical engineers, they are more proficient in operating sound equipment, and they will likely know more about acoustics than other studio staff such as repairmen.
Technicians may be classified as either highly skilled workers or at times semi-skilled workers, and may be part of a larger (production) process. They may be found working in a variety of fields, and they usually have a job title with the designation 'technician' following the particular category of work. Thus a 'stage technician' is a worker who provides technical support for putting on a play, while a 'medical technician' is an employee who provides technical support in the medical industry or to the medical profession. An engineering technician in the UK is a highly skilled, highly educated occupation requiring 5–8 years post high school training in a formal apprenticeship and college of further Education.