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The differences between building engineers and facility maintenance technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a building engineer and a facility maintenance technician. Additionally, a building engineer has an average salary of $76,446, which is higher than the $39,575 average annual salary of a facility maintenance technician.
The top three skills for a building engineer include HVAC, ladders and plumbing. The most important skills for a facility maintenance technician are plumbing, HVAC, and hand tools.
| Building Engineer | Facility Maintenance Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $76,446 | $39,575 |
| Hourly rate | $36.75 | $19.03 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 13,440 | 171,217 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The job of building engineers is to provide advice on design, installation, and maintenance of energy-efficient and cost-effective systems for all building services, including lighting, water, and air conditioning. These professionals are responsible for the distribution of water supply and electricity and resolving tenants' maintenance problems such as plumbing and electrical systems. Additional duties of the building engineers include conducting tests on systems, ensuring compliance with health and safety requirements, and liaising with construction professionals like surveyors and electricians.
A facility maintenance technician is responsible for inspecting the safety and security of the facilities, including the operational tools, equipment, and machinery, to avoid potential hazards in the production area and maintain timely project deliverables. Facility maintenance technicians perform a regular check on the equipment, identifying glitches and inconsistencies, and repairing defective components to avoid delays in operation. They also install and assemble new machines, requiring them to have comprehensive knowledge of reading schematics and blueprints. A facility maintenance technician records incident reports and suggests immediate safety actions to management.
Building engineers and facility maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Building Engineer | Facility Maintenance Technician | |
| Average salary | $76,446 | $39,575 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $116,000 | Between $29,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Anchorage, AK |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Apple | The American Musical and Dramatic Academy |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a building engineer and a facility maintenance technician in terms of educational background:
| Building Engineer | Facility Maintenance Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Heating And Air Conditioning | Electrical Engineering Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between building engineers' and facility maintenance technicians' demographics:
| Building Engineer | Facility Maintenance Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4% | Male, 95.6% Female, 4.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 4.5% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 4.5% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |