Highway technician vs assistant

The differences between highway technicians and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a highway technician, becoming an assistant takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an assistant has an average salary of $37,363, which is higher than the $35,400 average annual salary of a highway technician.

The top three skills for a highway technician include GRASS, traffic control and CDL. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Highway technician vs assistant overview

	Highway Technician	Assistant
Yearly salary	$35,400	$37,363
Hourly rate	$17.02	$17.96
Growth rate	-	-8%
Number of jobs	8,849	557,900
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	45	50
Years of experience	10	2

Highway technician vs assistant salary

Highway technicians and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Highway Technician	Assistant
Average salary	$35,400	$37,363
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $46,000	Between $16,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City	Cleveland, OH	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Iowa Department of Transportation	Latham & Watkins
Best paying industry	Insurance	Education

Differences between highway technician and assistant education

There are a few differences between a highway technician and an assistant in terms of educational background:

	Highway Technician	Assistant
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Wentworth Institute of Technology	Western Carolina University

Highway technician vs assistant demographics

Here are the differences between highway technicians' and assistants' demographics:

	Highway Technician	Assistant
Average age	45	50
Gender ratio	Male, 85.8% Female, 14.2%	Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.3% Asian, 6.0% White, 68.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between highway technician and assistant duties and responsibilities

Highway technician example 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.
Overlie projects dealing with asphalt, do ditch work with all kinds of equipment.
Operate front-end loaders, mowers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and pole saws as trained.

Assistant example responsibilities.

Manage circulations, including educational textbooks and DVDS, video technology and supplies.
Manage branches providing information technology support, logistics, training and operational support.
Manage company's twitter account and communicate with multiple physical therapy providers around the country
Optimize productivity in prioritizing and managing special projects, PowerPoint presentations for classes, and proctore exams for undergraduate classes.
Assist in jewelry design and assembly, manage company Facebook page, participate in wholesale buying, and manage retail inventory
Manage and update company Facebook page with daily updates, finding/sharing relevant and interesting information, and encouraging fan engagement.

Highway technician vs assistant skills

Common highway technician skills

GRASS, 16%
Traffic Control, 14%
CDL, 11%
Highway Maintenance, 11%
Dump Truck, 7%
Pavement Markings, 5%

Common assistant skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 13%
Patient Care, 8%
CPR, 5%
Sales Floor, 5%
Scheduling Appointments, 3%