A person working as Technical Operator in Johannesburg typically earns around 12,400 ZAR. Salaries range from 5,950 ZAR (lowest) to 19,500 ZAR (highest).
This is the average salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Technical Operator salaries in Johannesburg vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
![]() 5,950 ZAR |
![]() 11,700 ZAR |
![]() 19,500 ZAR |
Salaries for the position Technical Operator in Johannesburg range from 5,950 ZAR (starting salary) to 19,500 ZAR (maximum salary). It should be noted that the given figure is not the legally mandated minimum wage; rather, it represents the lowest figure reported in a salary survey that included thousands of participants and professionals from all regions of the country.
With a median salary of 11,700 ZAR, half of the professionals who work as Technical Operator in Johannesburg earn less than this amount, and the other half earn more. The median salary denotes the middle value of salaries. Ideally, you would want to belong to the group earning more than the median salary, located on the right side of the salary distribution graph.
The median is closely associated with two other values known as the 25th and 75th percentiles. By examining the salary distribution chart, it can be determined that 25% of professionals employed as Technical Operator in Johannesburg earn less than 9,490 ZAR, while 75% earn more. Similarly, the chart shows that 75% earn less than 13,400 ZAR while 25% earn more.
To provide a better understanding of expected salaries, we categorized the frequently occurring salaries into different ranges. This approach provides a more precise representation of salary distribution for the job title Technical Operator in Johannesburg compared to simply calculating the average. The majority of reported salaries, approximately 65%, fall within the range of 7,180 ZAR to 10,200 ZAR. About 20% of salaries are below the 7,180 ZAR mark, while 10% fall within the range of 10,200 ZAR to 11,600 ZAR. Only 5% of individuals have salaries exceeding 11,600 ZAR.
0 - 2 Years | 6,970 ZAR | |
2 - 5 Years | +42% | 9,870 ZAR |
5 - 10 Years | +31% | 13,000 ZAR |
10 - 15 Years | +23% | 16,000 ZAR |
15 - 20 Years | +6% | 17,000 ZAR |
20+ Years | +10% | 18,600 ZAR |
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally, the more years of experience the higher the wage. We broke down salaries by experience level for people working as Technical Operator and this is what we found.
Employees with less than two years of experience earn approximately 6,970 ZAR.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 9,870 ZAR, 42% more than someone with less than two year's experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 13,000 ZAR, 31% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, professionals whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 16,000 ZAR, 23% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 17,000 ZAR, 6% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 18,600 ZAR, 10% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
High School | 9,330 ZAR | |
Certificate or Diploma | +72% | 16,100 ZAR |
We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down salaries by education level for the position Technical Operator in order to make a comparison.
Employees at this education level have an average salary of 9,330 ZAR.
At this level, the average salary becomes 16,100 ZAR, 72% more than the previous level.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? For the people who work as Technical Operator in South Africa, the average difference between the salary of male and female employees is 8%.
Male | 12,600 ZAR | |
Female | -7% | 11,700 ZAR |
Individuals working as Technical Operator in South Africa are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately % every months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 18 months.
The term Annual Salary Increase usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rare that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one-year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 / Increase Frequency
Not all compensation increases are reflected directly in the salary. Some companies offer upgraded packages to their staff instead of cash money. The figures displayed here account only for direct increments to the base salary.
100% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while % said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from % to % of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | % | |
No Bonus | 100% |
The most standard form of bonus, where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually, jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fixed amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The minimum pay rate per hour for people working as Technical Operator in Johannesburg is 34 ZAR. This is the minimum as per the gathered data in the salary survey not the minimum hourly rate mandated by law.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Factory and Manufacturing | ![]() | |
3D Printing Technician | 20,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Additive Manufacturing Engineer | 27,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Assembly Foreman | 9,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Assembly Line Worker | 9,020 ZAR | ![]() |
Assembly Supervisor | 13,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Assistance Maintenance Manager | 34,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Assistant Shipping Manager | 30,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Automation Process Analyst | 21,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Chemical Equipment Controller | 21,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Chemical Technican Apprentice | 18,000 ZAR | ![]() |
CNC Machinist | 19,800 ZAR | ![]() |
CNC Operator | 20,000 ZAR | ![]() |
CNC Programmer | 23,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Colour Technologist | 11,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Contracts Manager | 36,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Data Collection Coordinator | 15,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Demand Planner | 14,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Derrick Operator | 9,650 ZAR | ![]() |
Digital Twin Engineer | 28,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Director of Manufacturing | 57,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Dock Worker | 8,730 ZAR | ![]() |
Drying Technician | 8,490 ZAR | ![]() |
Equipment Operator | 8,270 ZAR | ![]() |
Export Sales Coordinator | 26,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Factory Superintendent | 13,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Factory Worker | 10,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Failure Analysis Technician | 14,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Fiberglass Laminator | 9,210 ZAR | ![]() |
Food Technologist | 17,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Forklift Driver | 9,160 ZAR | ![]() |
Forklift Operator | 9,290 ZAR | ![]() |
Forming Machine Operator | 9,880 ZAR | ![]() |
Furnace Operator | 8,960 ZAR | ![]() |
Gas Appliance Repairer | 8,960 ZAR | ![]() |
General Warehouse Associate | 14,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Green Product Designer | 26,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Heavy Equipment Operator | 12,600 ZAR | ![]() |
HSE Manager | 40,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Industrial Cybersecurity Specialist | 29,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Industrial Engineer | 31,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Industrial Machinery Mechanic | 19,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Industrial Production Manager | 52,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Industrial Safety and Health Engineer | 27,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Intake Operator | 11,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Key Account Manager | 46,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Lean Manufacturing Specialist | 28,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Lift Truck Operator | 9,310 ZAR | ![]() |
Loading Supervisor | 16,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Logistic Coordinator | 23,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Logistics Clerk | 11,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Machine Operator | 9,210 ZAR | ![]() |
Machinist | 9,350 ZAR | ![]() |
Maintenance Manager | 34,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Maintenance Store Clerk | 9,450 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Engineer | 29,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Engineering Manager | 44,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Engineering Technologist | 33,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Manager | 48,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Operative | 16,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Production Technician | 11,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Supervisor | 26,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Manufacturing Technician | 10,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Materials Manager | 38,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Materials Supervisor | 26,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical Fitter Engineer | 29,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Mechanical Foreman | 9,510 ZAR | ![]() |
Merchandise Planner | 16,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Metrology Engineer | 28,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Operations Engineer | 28,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Operations Manager | 43,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Order Management Coordinator | 23,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Order Processing Manager | 40,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Order Selector | 10,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Package Handler | 8,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Packaging Manager | 31,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Packer | 9,720 ZAR | ![]() |
Packing Deputy Supervisor | 24,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Planning Manager | 43,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Plant Manager | 51,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Precision Instrument Repairer | 14,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Predictive Maintenance Analyst | 28,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Process Technician | 11,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Product Manager | 47,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Analyst | 41,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Director | 59,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Engineer | 29,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Engineering Supervisor | 46,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Inspector | 30,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Laborer | 8,530 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Manager | 53,900 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Operator | 13,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Scheduler | 21,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Supervisor | 28,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Technician | 13,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Production Worker | 12,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Quality Control Analyst | 36,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Quality Control Inspector | 30,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Quality Control Manager | 43,300 ZAR | ![]() |
Service Technician | 11,200 ZAR | ![]() |
SHEQ Officer | 14,000 ZAR | ![]() |
Shipping Manager | 46,700 ZAR | ![]() |
Small Engine Mechanic | 15,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Smart Factory Consultant | 34,600 ZAR | ![]() |
Spray Painter | 9,390 ZAR | ![]() |
Sterile Processing Technician | 11,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Structural Welder | 8,750 ZAR | ![]() |
Supply Chain Operative | 25,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Sustainable Manufacturing Specialist | 40,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Technical Operator | 12,400 ZAR | ![]() |
Technology Development Manager | 54,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Testing Technician | 21,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Toolmaker | 15,200 ZAR | ![]() |
Warehouse Forklift Operator | 9,460 ZAR | ![]() |
Warehouse Operative | 10,500 ZAR | ![]() |
Warehouse Worker | 10,100 ZAR | ![]() |
Warranty Handler | 16,800 ZAR | ![]() |
Welder | 9,120 ZAR | ![]() |
Workshop Manager | 34,200 ZAR | ![]() |
City | Average Salary |
Cape Town | 13,500 ZAR |
Johannesburg | 12,400 ZAR |
Where can you get paid more, working in a private company or the government? The difference between the public or government sector salaries and the private sector salaries in South Africa is 7% on average across all career fields.
Private Sector | 30,400 ZAR | |
Public Sector | +7% | 32,400 ZAR |
A good and competitive compensation would range anywhere between 11,700 ZAR and 13,400 ZAR. This is a very rough estimate. Experience and education play a very huge part in the final earnings.
All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.
The base salary for a careers like Technical Operator in Johannesburg ranges from 5,950 ZAR to 9,490 ZAR. The base salary depends on many factors including experience and education. It is not easy to provide a figure with very little information, so take this range with a grain of salt.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people earn more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary