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The differences between chief engineers and maintenance managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a chief engineer, becoming a maintenance manager takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a chief engineer has an average salary of $108,050, which is higher than the $72,269 average annual salary of a maintenance manager.
The top three skills for a chief engineer include HVAC, plumbing and customer service. The most important skills for a maintenance manager are OSHA, customer service, and plumbing.
| Chief Engineer | Maintenance Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $108,050 | $72,269 |
| Hourly rate | $51.95 | $34.74 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 88,473 | 61,748 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Average age | 41 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the engineering department's overall operations, ensuring performance efficiency, and everyone's strict compliance with the safety standards and regulatory procedures. Chief engineers manage the distribution of the tasks to the team, communicate with the clients and management for instructions and specifications, monitor expenses and forecast sales reports, analyze and approve designs, negotiate contracts, and process disputes. A chief engineer must have excellent knowledge of the engineering disciplines and exemplary leadership skills to handle the team's performance towards the company's objectives.
A maintenance manager's role is to lead and oversee the workflow and workforce involved in the upkeep of a building or establishment. Duties include ensuring that all aspects are operational and in good condition. Some of the responsibilities of a maintenance manager are to supervise all installation and repairs in the building, arrange schedules for regular inspection, devise strategies, obtain cost-effective materials, and hire trustworthy contractors. Furthermore, maintenance managers must coordinate with all workforce involved and ensure that all operations adhere to the company's policies and regulations.
Chief engineers and maintenance managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Engineer | Maintenance Manager | |
| Average salary | $108,050 | $72,269 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $177,000 | Between $47,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | BGC Partners | BP America Inc |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Government |
There are a few differences between a chief engineer and a maintenance manager in terms of educational background:
| Chief Engineer | Maintenance Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between chief engineers' and maintenance managers' demographics:
| Chief Engineer | Maintenance Manager | |
| Average age | 41 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8% | Male, 94.0% Female, 6.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 10.2% White, 71.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 4% |