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The differences between maintenance assistants 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 a maintenance assistant and a preventive maintenance technician. Additionally, a preventive maintenance technician has an average salary of $40,935, 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 preventive maintenance technician are customer service, hand tools, and HVAC.
| Maintenance Assistant | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $31,915 | $40,935 |
| Hourly rate | $15.34 | $19.68 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 95,815 | 170,517 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| 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 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.
Maintenance assistants and preventive maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Maintenance Assistant | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Average salary | $31,915 | $40,935 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $41,000 | Between $31,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Las Vegas, NV | Owatonna, MN |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Brigham and Women's Hospital | Kiewit |
| Best paying industry | Government | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a maintenance assistant and a preventive maintenance technician in terms of educational background:
| Maintenance Assistant | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | Associate Degree, 31% |
| Most common major | Business | Automotive Technology |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between maintenance assistants' and preventive maintenance technicians' demographics:
| Maintenance Assistant | Preventive Maintenance Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.6% Female, 13.4% | Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2% |
| 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, 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% |