Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between general maintenance mechanics and preventive 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 general maintenance mechanic and a preventive maintenance technician. Additionally, a preventive maintenance technician has an average salary of $40,935, which is higher than the $37,631 average annual salary of a general maintenance mechanic.
The top three skills for a general maintenance mechanic include plumbing, HVAC and customer service. The most important skills for a preventive maintenance technician are customer service, hand tools, and HVAC.
| General Maintenance Mechanic | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $37,631 | $40,935 |
| Hourly rate | $18.09 | $19.68 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 167,937 | 170,517 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 46% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A general maintenance mechanic is responsible for ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of the facilities and inspecting the condition and performance of the equipment and machinery for business operations and processes. General maintenance mechanics handle equipment repairs and replacement of defective components, requiring them to have extensive knowledge of the mechanical industry. They also install and assemble equipment by analyzing mechanical schematics and blueprints accurately. A general maintenance mechanic creates a comprehensive schedule of inspection, repairs, and quality control checks to preserve the safe standards of the premises.
A preventive maintenance technician performs routine facility maintenance to prevent possible mechanical failure. The technicians change worn out machine parts before they can cause mechanical damage. They keep the facility operating. It is their job to conduct quality assessments, maintain inventory, and schedule repairs. Also, they see to it that machines are up and running at all times. They are expected to be equipped with skills in customer service, problem-solving, reading comprehension, business operation, and mechanical aptitude.
General maintenance mechanics and preventive maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Maintenance Mechanic | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Average salary | $37,631 | $40,935 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $51,000 | Between $31,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Clara, CA | Owatonna, MN |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | Kiewit |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a general maintenance mechanic and a preventive maintenance technician in terms of educational background:
| General Maintenance Mechanic | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 46% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Business | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between general maintenance mechanics' and preventive maintenance technicians' demographics:
| General Maintenance Mechanic | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 93.6% Female, 6.4% | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 4.5% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |