Highway maintenance worker vs transportation maintenance operator

The differences between highway maintenance workers and transportation maintenance 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 transportation maintenance operator. Additionally, a highway maintenance worker has an average salary of $40,488, which is higher than the $33,448 average annual salary of a transportation maintenance operator.

The top three skills for a highway maintenance worker include CDL, highway maintenance and asphalt. The most important skills for a transportation maintenance operator are safety regulations, CDL, and DOT.

Highway maintenance worker vs transportation maintenance operator overview

	Highway Maintenance Worker	Transportation Maintenance Operator
Yearly salary	$40,488	$33,448
Hourly rate	$19.47	$16.08
Growth rate	-	5%
Number of jobs	72,179	89,662
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 32%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	12	12

Highway maintenance worker vs transportation maintenance operator salary

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

	Highway Maintenance Worker	Transportation Maintenance Operator
Average salary	$40,488	$33,448
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $54,000	Between $22,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Olympia, WA	-
Highest paying state	New Jersey	-
Best paying company	Washington State University	-
Best paying industry	Construction	-

Differences between highway maintenance worker and transportation maintenance operator education

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

	Highway Maintenance Worker	Transportation Maintenance Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Highway maintenance worker vs transportation maintenance operator demographics

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

	Highway Maintenance Worker	Transportation Maintenance Operator
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 89.3% Female, 10.7%	Male, 71.6% Female, 28.4%
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, 9.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 0.5% White, 73.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between highway maintenance worker and transportation maintenance 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.

Transportation maintenance operator example responsibilities.

Manage receipt, storage and issue of ammunition processes.
Operate wheel loaders, bulldozers, and farm grade tractors with different implements, also construct grain bins.
Train incoming soldiers to operate all wheel vehicles and equipment over vary terrain and roadways in support of combat operations.
Apply CPR procedures if need.
Operate Opex slitting/sorting & postage machines.
Have attended classes for the GPS unit.

Highway maintenance worker vs transportation maintenance operator skills

Common highway maintenance worker skills

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

Common transportation maintenance operator skills

Safety Regulations, 25%
CDL, 13%
DOT, 8%
Maintenance Checks, 6%
Emergency Equipment, 3%
Safety Procedures, 3%

Highway Maintenance Worker vs. similar jobs

Highway Maintenance Worker related careers

Highway Maintenance Worker related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Construction and Extraction Industry
Highway Maintenance Worker
Highway Maintenance Worker vs Transportation Maintenance Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse construction and extraction jobs