What does a highway maintenance technician do?
Highway maintenance technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real highway maintenance technician resumes:
- Manage proper storage of equipment, compliance with ANSI, NEC standard and assure OSHA safety regulations.
- Mow or clear brush from a long road or plow snow from roadway
- Repair cross/storm drains, cracks, pothole, and perform cold asphalt patch repair and pressure washing as needed.
- Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using one pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement.
- Perform routine and emergency maintenance calls, paint, repair drywall safely repair minor electrical problems including HVAC.
- Operate trucks equip with snowplows and sander attachments to maintain roads in winter weather.
Highway maintenance technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Highway Maintenance Technicians are proficient in CDL, Highway Maintenance, and Asphalt. They’re also known for soft skills such as Math skills, Problem-solving skills, and Reading skills.
We break down the percentage of Highway Maintenance Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CDL, 27%
Obtained current CDL, DOT medical exams and TWIC* card through Dept.
- Highway Maintenance, 19%
Perform Highway Maintenance Operate machinery and Trucks Commercial DriversLicense Class B.
- Asphalt, 9%
Worked with asphalt crew patching pot holes and reworking asphalt aprons/spillways.
- Hand Tools, 9%
Adjusted and replaced defective and improperly functioning circuitry and electronic components, using hand tools and soldering iron.
- Equipment Maintenance, 6%
General Manufacturing Equipment Maintenance * Answered production line calls from equipment failure * Performed preventative maintenance and daily checks of production equipment
- CPR, 6%
Trained and certified for both child and adult CPR, First Aid and Pediatric First Aid.
"cdl," "highway maintenance," and "asphalt" are among the most common skills that highway maintenance technicians use at work. You can find even more highway maintenance technician responsibilities below, including:
Math skills. The most essential soft skill for a highway maintenance technician to carry out their responsibilities is math skills. This skill is important for the role because "civil engineering technologists and technicians use math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting." Additionally, a highway maintenance technician resume shows how their duties depend on math skills: "learned responsibility skills used construction skills math skills some business skills people skills"
Problem-solving skills. Another essential skill to perform highway maintenance technician duties is problem-solving skills. Highway maintenance technicians responsibilities require that "as assistants to civil engineers, these technologists and technicians must be able to help engineers identify problems and design projects to solve them." Highway maintenance technicians also use problem-solving skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "designed solutions to eliminate noted reoccurring issues for customer pc concerns. "
The three companies that hire the most highway maintenance technicians are:
- Wyoming69 highway maintenance technicians jobs
- Wsp USA Buildings Inc.50 highway maintenance technicians jobs
- Indiana State Police15 highway maintenance technicians jobs
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Highway maintenance technician vs. Street worker
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, highway maintenance technician responsibilities require skills like "highway maintenance," "safety equipment," "minor maintenance," and "equipment maintenance." Meanwhile a typical street worker has skills in areas such as "street maintenance," "maintenance equipment," "city streets," and "shovels." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Street workers tend to reach higher levels of education than highway maintenance technicians. In fact, street workers are 5.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Highway maintenance technician vs. Snow plow operator
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, highway maintenance technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "highway maintenance," "safety equipment," "asphalt," and "minor maintenance." Meanwhile, a snow plow operator has duties that require skills in areas such as "de-icing," "end loaders," "snow blowers," and "hazardous materials." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, snow plow operators earn a higher salary than highway maintenance technicians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, snow plow operators earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $39,366. Whereas highway maintenance technicians have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $41,772.snow plow operators earn similar levels of education than highway maintenance technicians in general. They're 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Highway maintenance technician vs. Road worker
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from highway maintenance technician resumes include skills like "highway maintenance," "minor maintenance," "hand tools," and "cpr," whereas a road worker is more likely to list skills in "traffic control," "mixers," "road ways," and "water truck. "
When it comes to education, road workers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to highway maintenance technicians. In fact, they're 2.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Highway maintenance technician vs. Hot oiler
Even though a few skill sets overlap between highway maintenance technicians and hot oilers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a highway maintenance technician might have more use for skills like "cdl," "highway maintenance," "safety equipment," and "asphalt." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hot oilers require skills like "routine maintenance," "production equipment," "frac," and "rig. "
Hot oilers reach similar levels of education compared to highway maintenance technicians, in general. The difference is that they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of highway maintenance technician
Updated January 8, 2025











