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The differences between highway maintenance workers and maintenance workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a highway maintenance worker, becoming a maintenance worker takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a highway maintenance worker has an average salary of $40,488, which is higher than the $36,132 average annual salary of a maintenance worker.
The top three skills for a highway maintenance worker include CDL, highway maintenance and asphalt. The most important skills for a maintenance worker are plumbing, GRASS, and general maintenance.
| Highway Maintenance Worker | Maintenance Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $40,488 | $36,132 |
| Hourly rate | $19.47 | $17.37 |
| Growth rate | - | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 72,179 | 115,130 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 52% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
Highway maintenance workers are employees who are responsible for performing various tasks to provide safety and working order to all highways and roads. These workers must visit problematic areas to assess the situation of highways and then perform duties such as paving uneven or damaged highways or painting traffic lines and dividers. They must work during times of extreme weather by operating plows to clear the roads of fallen trees, rocks, or other debris that are blocking the highway. They must also possess the skills to perform repairs on heavy machinery such as salt trucks, blowers, and forklifts.
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.
Highway maintenance workers and maintenance workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Highway Maintenance Worker | Maintenance Worker | |
| Average salary | $40,488 | $36,132 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $54,000 | Between $25,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Washington State University | ABB |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a highway maintenance worker and a maintenance worker in terms of educational background:
| Highway Maintenance Worker | Maintenance Worker | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 52% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between highway maintenance workers' and maintenance workers' demographics:
| Highway Maintenance Worker | Maintenance Worker | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7% | Male, 88.0% Female, 12.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 0.5% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% | 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 | 4% | 2% |