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Building engineer vs maintenance technician

The differences between building engineers and 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 maintenance technician. Additionally, a building engineer has an average salary of $76,446, which is higher than the $43,293 average annual salary of a maintenance technician.

The top three skills for a building engineer include HVAC, ladders and plumbing. The most important skills for a maintenance technician are plumbing, HVAC, and hand tools.

Building engineer vs maintenance technician overview

Building EngineerMaintenance Technician
Yearly salary$76,446$43,293
Hourly rate$36.75$20.81
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs13,440178,450
Job satisfaction54.25
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 32%High School Diploma, 34%
Average age4747
Years of experience44

What does a building engineer do?

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.

What does a maintenance technician do?

Maintenance technicians are technicians who specialize in the preservation of office facilities. They have in-depth knowledge of how various office equipment or fixtures work so that they can immediately identify how to repair them in case of breakdowns. Maintenance technicians perform diagnostics and routine maintenance activities to ensure that everything in the office is running well. They immediately repair problems in fixtures or equipment to avoid any further damages or safety concerns. They should be familiar with occupational safety and health standards to ensure that the office is a safe place to work.

Building engineer vs maintenance technician salary

Building engineers and maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Building EngineerMaintenance Technician
Average salary$76,446$43,293
Salary rangeBetween $49,000 And $116,000Between $31,000 And $59,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CARichmond, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaRhode Island
Best paying companyAppleAnheuser-Busch
Best paying industryTechnologyManufacturing

Differences between building engineer and maintenance technician education

There are a few differences between a building engineer and a maintenance technician in terms of educational background:

Building EngineerMaintenance Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 32%High School Diploma, 34%
Most common majorHeating And Air ConditioningElectrical Engineering Technology
Most common college--

Building engineer vs maintenance technician demographics

Here are the differences between building engineers' and maintenance technicians' demographics:

Building EngineerMaintenance Technician
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 94.6% Female, 5.4%Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratioBlack 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, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage2%2%

Differences between building engineer and maintenance technician duties and responsibilities

Building engineer example responsibilities.

  • Coordinate with team leads to determine needs and how best to implement JIRA within department.
  • Create python script to automate the deployment process which deploys the application and restarts the servers.
  • Manage service MEP vendor contracts (elevators, fire life support, annual test and inspections).
  • Manage and sustain manufacturing processes via monitoring, SPC, and data analysis to maintain overall process health and stability.
  • Contribute PowerShell functions to a PowerShell module used to automate software upgrades.
  • Provide property preventive maintenance, electrical repair, HVAC maintenance/troubleshooting, construction, plumbing, custom carpentry and renovations.
  • Show more

Maintenance technician example responsibilities.

  • Install, repair and troubleshoot electrical wiring, including switches, outlets, lights, ballast.
  • Monitor and document all temperature readings on boilers, chillers, and dry vac systems beginning and mid shift.
  • Perform preventative maintenance checks and services on exhaust fans, boilers, chiller units, automatic transfer switches, and generators.
  • Repair electrical equipment; replace faulty electrical switches; repair refrigeration equipment.
  • Handle trouble-shooting and repair of mechanical systems refrigerant recovery and charging of HVAC systems.
  • Facilitate commercial plumbing, electrical, light HVAC, and carpentry repairs in a laboratory facility environment
  • Show more

Building engineer vs maintenance technician skills

Common building engineer skills
  • HVAC, 13%
  • Ladders, 12%
  • Plumbing, 12%
  • Preventive Maintenance, 10%
  • Emergency Situations, 9%
  • Roofing, 8%
Common maintenance technician skills
  • Plumbing, 10%
  • HVAC, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Ladders, 4%
  • Electrical Systems, 4%

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