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The differences between industrial maintenance technicians and equipment maintenance technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an industrial maintenance technician and an equipment maintenance technician. Additionally, an industrial maintenance technician has an average salary of $50,649, which is higher than the $45,945 average annual salary of an equipment maintenance technician.
The top three skills for an industrial maintenance technician include industrial maintenance, hand tools and PLC. The most important skills for an equipment maintenance technician are equipment maintenance, hand tools, and preventive maintenance.
| Industrial Maintenance Technician | Equipment Maintenance Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $50,649 | $45,945 |
| Hourly rate | $24.35 | $22.09 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 169,569 | 168,523 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 42% | Associate Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An industrial maintenance technician is responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing commercial and industrial machinery in a building or a manufacturing plant. You will perform typical duties that include ensuring all machines function properly through preventative maintenance service, conducting tests to ensure production machinery functions properly, and performing safety checks and routine maintenance. Other duties include collaborating with the production team, preparing maintenance reports, and instructing and guiding new employees. An industrial maintenance technician also assesses the machinery's functionality and fabricates parts for machine upgrades and repair.
An equipment maintenance technician is responsible for ensuring the stability and efficiency of all production tools and equipment to support smooth business functions and operations. Equipment maintenance technicians conduct regular maintenance for optimization, repair defective components, and inspect equipment parts to identify possible upgrades and replacements. They also assemble equipment and machinery, requiring them to have excellent mechanical and critical-thinking skills to analyze schematics and blueprints accurately. An equipment maintenance technician must be highly communicative and organizational, especially in adhering to the highest safety standards and protocols during operations.
Industrial maintenance technicians and equipment maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Industrial Maintenance Technician | Equipment Maintenance Technician | |
| Average salary | $50,649 | $45,945 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $66,000 | Between $35,000 And $60,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Hayward, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Boehringer Ingelheim | Vicor |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between an industrial maintenance technician and an equipment maintenance technician in terms of educational background:
| Industrial Maintenance Technician | Equipment Maintenance Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 42% | Associate Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Industrial Technology | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between industrial maintenance technicians' and equipment maintenance technicians' demographics:
| Industrial Maintenance Technician | Equipment Maintenance Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.5% Female, 3.5% | Male, 94.7% Female, 5.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 4.7% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 22.2% Asian, 4.3% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |