Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between maintenance assistants and maintenance engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a maintenance assistant and a maintenance engineer. Additionally, a maintenance engineer has an average salary of $47,133, which is higher than the $31,915 average annual salary of a maintenance assistant.
The top three skills for a maintenance assistant include plumbing, HVAC and customer service. The most important skills for a maintenance engineer are plumbing, HVAC, and guest rooms.
| Maintenance Assistant | Maintenance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $31,915 | $47,133 |
| Hourly rate | $15.34 | $22.66 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 95,815 | 97,957 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A maintenance assistant is responsible for maintaining the company's facilities' cleanliness, ensuring that all the equipment and machinery are in working condition, and escalating high defective items for repair. Maintenance assistants should adhere to the organization's safety standards at all times to prevent hazards in operations. They also assist with monitoring inventories and requesting office supplies, inspect electrical wirings and systems for inconsistencies, respond to cleaning and repair requests, and assist guests to the correct departments.
A maintenance engineer is responsible for the maintenance of industrial machinery and inspects equipment defects for immediate troubleshooting or replacement as needed. Maintenance engineers install and upgrade system components to improve system optimization and perform diagnostic systems to locate any adjustments. They also conduct routine checks, assist clients with technical faults, and ensure that the equipment works safely for certain operations. A maintenance engineer must have excellent knowledge of the mechanical industry to address technical malfunctions immediately.
Maintenance assistants and maintenance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Maintenance Assistant | Maintenance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $31,915 | $47,133 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $41,000 | Between $29,000 And $74,000 |
| Highest paying City | Las Vegas, NV | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Halliburton |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a maintenance assistant and a maintenance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Maintenance Assistant | Maintenance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between maintenance assistants' and maintenance engineers' demographics:
| Maintenance Assistant | Maintenance Engineer | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.6% Female, 13.4% | Male, 94.6% Female, 5.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 4.4% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 4.4% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |