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Maintenance assistant vs maintenance technician

The differences between maintenance assistants and 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 a maintenance assistant and a maintenance technician. Additionally, a maintenance technician has an average salary of $43,293, 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 technician are plumbing, HVAC, and hand tools.

Maintenance assistant vs maintenance technician overview

Maintenance AssistantMaintenance Technician
Yearly salary$31,915$43,293
Hourly rate$15.34$20.81
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs95,815178,450
Job satisfaction-4.25
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 35%High School Diploma, 34%
Average age4747
Years of experience44

What does a maintenance assistant do?

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.

What does a maintenance technician do?

Maintenance technicians are technicians who specialize in the preservation of office facilities. They have in-depth knowledge of how various office equipment or fixtures work so that they can immediately identify how to repair them in case of breakdowns. Maintenance technicians perform diagnostics and routine maintenance activities to ensure that everything in the office is running well. They immediately repair problems in fixtures or equipment to avoid any further damages or safety concerns. They should be familiar with occupational safety and health standards to ensure that the office is a safe place to work.

Maintenance assistant vs maintenance technician salary

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

Maintenance AssistantMaintenance Technician
Average salary$31,915$43,293
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $41,000Between $31,000 And $59,000
Highest paying CityLas Vegas, NVRichmond, CA
Highest paying stateHawaiiRhode Island
Best paying companyBrigham and Women's HospitalAnheuser-Busch
Best paying industryGovernmentManufacturing

Differences between maintenance assistant and maintenance technician education

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

Maintenance AssistantMaintenance Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 35%High School Diploma, 34%
Most common majorBusinessElectrical Engineering Technology
Most common college--

Maintenance assistant vs maintenance technician demographics

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

Maintenance AssistantMaintenance Technician
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 86.6% Female, 13.4%Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratioBlack 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, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage2%2%

Differences between maintenance assistant and maintenance technician duties and responsibilities

Maintenance assistant example responsibilities.

  • Manage long-term working relationships with many local service providers including professional septic, plumbing, electrical and HVAC providers.
  • Program and adjust PLC systems and associate communications.
  • Coordinate inspection and verify work of roofing vendors.
  • Conduce control testing on PLC's for crane trolleys.
  • Change grease for fryers and occasionally cook on the grill.
  • Maintain the integrity and dexterity of the hospital's appearance.
  • Show more

Maintenance technician example responsibilities.

  • Install, repair and troubleshoot electrical wiring, including switches, outlets, lights, ballast.
  • Monitor and document all temperature readings on boilers, chillers, and dry vac systems beginning and mid shift.
  • Perform preventative maintenance checks and services on exhaust fans, boilers, chiller units, automatic transfer switches, and generators.
  • Repair electrical equipment; replace faulty electrical switches; repair refrigeration equipment.
  • Handle trouble-shooting and repair of mechanical systems refrigerant recovery and charging of HVAC systems.
  • Facilitate commercial plumbing, electrical, light HVAC, and carpentry repairs in a laboratory facility environment
  • Show more

Maintenance assistant vs maintenance technician skills

Common maintenance assistant skills
  • Plumbing, 15%
  • HVAC, 10%
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Patients, 5%
  • Electrical Equipment, 5%
  • Maintenance Tasks, 4%
Common maintenance technician skills
  • Plumbing, 10%
  • HVAC, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Ladders, 4%
  • Electrical Systems, 4%

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