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The differences between industrial maintenance technicians and preventive 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 a preventive maintenance technician. Additionally, an industrial maintenance technician has an average salary of $50,649, which is higher than the $40,935 average annual salary of a preventive maintenance technician.
The top three skills for an industrial maintenance technician include industrial maintenance, hand tools and PLC. The most important skills for a preventive maintenance technician are customer service, hand tools, and HVAC.
| Industrial Maintenance Technician | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $50,649 | $40,935 |
| Hourly rate | $24.35 | $19.68 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 169,569 | 170,517 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 42% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| 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.
A preventive maintenance technician performs routine facility maintenance to prevent possible mechanical failure. The technicians change worn out machine parts before they can cause mechanical damage. They keep the facility operating. It is their job to conduct quality assessments, maintain inventory, and schedule repairs. Also, they see to it that machines are up and running at all times. They are expected to be equipped with skills in customer service, problem-solving, reading comprehension, business operation, and mechanical aptitude.
Industrial maintenance technicians and preventive maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Industrial Maintenance Technician | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Average salary | $50,649 | $40,935 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $66,000 | Between $31,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Owatonna, MN |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Boehringer Ingelheim | Kiewit |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Automotive |
There are a few differences between an industrial maintenance technician and a preventive maintenance technician in terms of educational background:
| Industrial Maintenance Technician | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 42% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Industrial Technology | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between industrial maintenance technicians' and preventive maintenance technicians' demographics:
| Industrial Maintenance Technician | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 96.5% Female, 3.5% | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% |
| 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, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 4.6% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |