How To Become A Highway Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a highway technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average highway technician salary is $35,400. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 8-10 years of experience to become a highway technician. Highway technicians with a Commercial Driver License (CDL) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 0% and produce -100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreHighway TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,400

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.71%

Asian 6.04%

Black or African American 9.37%

Hispanic or Latino 10.27%

Unknown 4.80%

White 68.80%

Gender

female 14.25%

male 85.75%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a highway technician

Explore highway technician education requirements

Most common highway technician degrees

High School Diploma

43.9 %

Bachelor's

26.1 %

Associate

17.2 %

Start to develop specific highway technician skills

Skills	Percentages
GRASS	15.54%
Traffic Control	13.94%
CDL	11.42%
Highway Maintenance	10.57%
Dump Truck	6.62%

Complete relevant highway technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New highway technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a highway technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real highway technician resumes.

Research highway technician duties and responsibilities

Help manage the housing development; keeping it clean, in compliance with OSHA laws, and state safety laws.
Operate skagg and batwing mowers.
Lead worker on the mowing crew.
Have worked with concrete and asphalt, both removal and placement.

Prepare your highway technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your highway technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a highway technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable highway technician resume templates

Build a professional highway technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your highway technician resume.