What does a highway technician do?
Highway technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real highway technician resumes:
- 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.
- Inspect bridges, roads rest areas fish ladders, water, for safety, cracks, need repair.
- Control vegetation appearance and growth through use of lawn mowing equipment, hand and power trimmers and chemical sprayers.
- Direct and implement several electrical installations as well as plumbing.
- Work as a team member to maintain roads, remove snow and mow grounds.
Highway technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Highway Technicians are proficient in GRASS, Traffic Control, and CDL.
We break down the percentage of Highway Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- GRASS, 16%
Grass cutting maintenance with tractor/attachments.
- Traffic Control, 14%
Provide safety for road construction zones utilizing temporary traffic control.
- CDL, 11%
Obtained a Class B CDL endorsement, and certified to operate a loader.
- Highway Maintenance, 11%
Complete other related highway maintenance assignments and operate any combination of basic equipment to haul trash.
- Dump Truck, 7%
State road maintenance using; cement mixer, mower, dump truck, and small equipment.
- Pavement Markings, 5%
Traffic maintenance duties such as repairing and installing traffic signs and pavement markings are also required job duties for this position.
Common skills that a highway technician uses to do their job include "grass," "traffic control," and "cdl." You can find details on the most important highway technician responsibilities below.
Math skills. One of the key soft skills for a highway technician to have is math skills. You can see how this relates to what highway technicians do because "civil engineering technologists and technicians use math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting." Additionally, a highway technician resume shows how highway technicians use math skills: "service to work design into reality extensive work with engineer specifications, math, surveying, public records, and seismic bracing"
The three companies that hire the most highway technicians are:
- Indiana State Police47 highway technicians jobs
- Iowa Department of Transportation17 highway technicians jobs
- State of Ohio10 highway technicians jobs
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Highway technician vs. Project engineer internship
When it comes to a project engineer internship, one of the primary responsibilities is to follow the directives of engineers and managers while earning practical experience. Most of the duties will revolve around processing documents, answering calls and correspondence, participating in various projects, assisting engineers in basic tasks, and organizing inventory and supplies. There may also be instances when an intern may take part in presentations and attend meetings. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with supervising managers while adhering to all rules.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, highway technician responsibilities require skills like "grass," "traffic control," "cdl," and "highway maintenance." Meanwhile a typical project engineer internship has skills in areas such as "project management," "powerpoint," "rfi," and "cad." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, project engineer interns reach higher levels of education than highway technicians. Project engineer interns are 14.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Highway technician vs. Engineering internship
An engineering intern is responsible for assisting the overall project development under the supervision of a head engineer. Engineering interns' duties vary in every industry but generally include generating reports, analyzing budget goals and cost estimates, reaching out to clients for important updates, and providing project improvement recommendations. Engineering interns must have strong attention to detail, as well as excellent critical-thinking and project management skills. An engineering intern should be able to communicate effectively and use their logical judgments, especially when dealing with adjustments and meeting deadlines.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, highway technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "grass," "traffic control," "cdl," and "highway maintenance." Meanwhile, an engineering internship has duties that require skills in areas such as "engineering intern," "python," "c++," and "c #." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Engineering interns earn a higher average salary than highway technicians. But engineering interns earn the highest pay in the telecommunication industry, with an average salary of $45,479. Additionally, highway technicians earn the highest salaries in the insurance with average pay of $39,914 annually.In general, engineering interns achieve higher levels of education than highway technicians. They're 9.4% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Highway technician vs. Geotechnical engineering technician
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a highway technician is likely to be skilled in "grass," "traffic control," "cdl," and "highway maintenance," while a typical geotechnical engineering technician is skilled in "geotechnical," "construction materials," "laboratory tests," and "gint."
When it comes to education, geotechnical engineering technicians tend to earn similar degree levels compared to highway technicians. In fact, they're 4.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Highway technician vs. Structural engineering technician
Types of highway technician
Updated January 8, 2025











