Highway maintenance worker vs snow plow operator

The differences between highway maintenance workers and snow plow operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a highway maintenance worker and a snow plow operator. Additionally, a highway maintenance worker has an average salary of $40,488, which is higher than the $38,842 average annual salary of a snow plow operator.

The top three skills for a highway maintenance worker include CDL, highway maintenance and asphalt. The most important skills for a snow plow operator are CDL, loaders, and end loaders.

Highway maintenance worker vs snow plow operator overview

	Highway Maintenance Worker	Snow Plow Operator
Yearly salary	$40,488	$38,842
Hourly rate	$19.47	$18.67
Growth rate	-	5%
Number of jobs	72,179	35,630
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	12	12

Highway maintenance worker vs snow plow operator salary

Highway maintenance workers and snow plow operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Highway Maintenance Worker	Snow Plow Operator
Average salary	$40,488	$38,842
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $54,000	Between $28,000 And $52,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	SeaTac, WA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Washington
Best paying company	Washington State University	Stearns County MN
Best paying industry	Construction	Finance

Differences between highway maintenance worker and snow plow operator education

There are a few differences between a highway maintenance worker and a snow plow operator in terms of educational background:

	Highway Maintenance Worker	Snow Plow Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Highway maintenance worker vs snow plow operator demographics

Here are the differences between highway maintenance workers' and snow plow operators' demographics:

	Highway Maintenance Worker	Snow Plow Operator
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
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, 6.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 0.5% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between highway maintenance worker and snow plow operator duties and responsibilities

Highway maintenance worker example responsibilities.

Operate snow plows, haul trucks, bobcats, front end loaders, and backhoe equipment.
Maintain trucks, pavement making equipment, snowplows, and salt spreaders.
Operate all cdl equipment which include snow plow, highway striper, street sweeper and transporter.
Operate a single and tandem axle dump truck, backhoe, loader, roller, and chain saws.
Haul equipment out to job tandem dump truck with trailer operate backhoe paving roller, bobcat and loader.
Follow behind operating machinery, such as mowers, and weed whack what the mowers are unable to mow.

Snow plow operator example responsibilities.

Manage receipt, storage and issue of ammunition processes.
Provide maintenance, fertilization, aeration, seeding, mowing, planting, weeding, and trimming services.
Programme CNC machine for component placement and trigonometry assessment of circuitry board.
Mow multiple locations including residential and cemeteries.

Highway maintenance worker vs snow plow operator skills

Common highway maintenance worker skills

CDL, 9%
Highway Maintenance, 7%
Asphalt, 7%
Hand Tools, 6%
Loaders, 5%
GRASS, 5%

Common snow plow operator skills

CDL, 29%
Loaders, 18%
End Loaders, 11%
Plow Truck, 6%
Snow Blowers, 5%
Hazardous Materials, 4%

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Highway Maintenance Worker vs Snow Plow Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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