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The differences between building engineers and maintenance workers 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 worker. Additionally, a building engineer has an average salary of $76,446, which is higher than the $36,132 average annual salary of a maintenance worker.
The top three skills for a building engineer include HVAC, ladders and plumbing. The most important skills for a maintenance worker are plumbing, GRASS, and general maintenance.
| Building Engineer | Maintenance Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $76,446 | $36,132 |
| Hourly rate | $36.75 | $17.37 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 13,440 | 115,130 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| 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.
Maintenance workers are employees assigned to oversee the equipment, furniture, and fixtures in the office. They ensure that these items work correctly by doing routine check-ups, identifying any problems, anticipating challenges, sourcing for spare parts, and repairing problems. They also ensure that all the equipment, furniture, and fixtures are clean and always ready for use. They should be familiar with all the official instructions and procedures to ensure that they can adequately care for these items. They may also handle the installation of any new equipment.
Building engineers and maintenance workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Building Engineer | Maintenance Worker | |
| Average salary | $76,446 | $36,132 |
| Salary range | Between $49,000 And $116,000 | Between $25,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Apple | ABB |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a building engineer and a maintenance worker in terms of educational background:
| Building Engineer | Maintenance Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 32% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Most common major | Heating And Air Conditioning | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between building engineers' and maintenance workers' demographics:
| Building Engineer | Maintenance Worker | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4% | Male, 88.0% Female, 12.0% |
| 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, 10.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 4.5% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |