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Maintenance associate vs maintenance technician

The differences between maintenance associates 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 associate and a maintenance technician. Additionally, a maintenance technician has an average salary of $43,293, which is higher than the $35,101 average annual salary of a maintenance associate.

The top three skills for a maintenance associate include customer service, clean environment and sales floor. The most important skills for a maintenance technician are plumbing, HVAC, and hand tools.

Maintenance associate vs maintenance technician overview

Maintenance AssociateMaintenance Technician
Yearly salary$35,101$43,293
Hourly rate$16.88$20.81
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs92,078178,450
Job satisfaction-4.25
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 42%High School Diploma, 34%
Average age4747
Years of experience44

What does a maintenance associate do?

A maintenance associate is responsible for ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of the facilities, as well as inspecting and repairing broken machines and defective equipment to avoid delays in the operations. Maintenance associates monitor the adequacy of inventories, especially in manufacturing settings, coordinating with suppliers and third-party vendors for distribution and delivery. They also report hazardous incidents to the management, resolve maintenance complaints, and suggest quality control strategies to prevent reoccurrence and improve operational structures.

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 associate vs maintenance technician salary

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

Maintenance AssociateMaintenance Technician
Average salary$35,101$43,293
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $47,000Between $31,000 And $59,000
Highest paying CityOak Creek, WIRichmond, CA
Highest paying stateWisconsinRhode Island
Best paying companyIDEXAnheuser-Busch
Best paying industryManufacturingManufacturing

Differences between maintenance associate and maintenance technician education

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

Maintenance AssociateMaintenance Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 42%High School Diploma, 34%
Most common majorBusinessElectrical Engineering Technology
Most common college--

Maintenance associate vs maintenance technician demographics

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

Maintenance AssociateMaintenance Technician
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 84.2% Female, 15.8%Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.9% 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 associate and maintenance technician duties and responsibilities

Maintenance associate example responsibilities.

  • Preform schedule maintenance on mowers, weed eaters, edgers, and blowers.
  • Work with the electricians, plumber, HVAC crew, grounds crew, and carpenters.
  • Perform minor adjustments on HVAC systems, room furniture, fixtures and other items in apartments.
  • Repair and troubleshoot defective equipment.
  • Wash all interior/exterior windows using extension poles and/or ladders.
  • Perform cleanliness of all assess of retail facility for consumer/employee use
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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
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Maintenance associate vs maintenance technician skills

Common maintenance associate skills
  • Customer Service, 14%
  • Clean Environment, 11%
  • Sales Floor, 8%
  • Cleanliness, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 6%
  • Groceries, 6%
Common maintenance technician skills
  • Plumbing, 10%
  • HVAC, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Ladders, 4%
  • Electrical Systems, 4%

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