Maintenance equipment operator vs heavy equipment operator

The differences between maintenance equipment operators and heavy equipment operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a heavy equipment operator has an average salary of $39,822, which is higher than the $36,428 average annual salary of a maintenance equipment operator.

The top three skills for a maintenance equipment operator include CDL, asphalt and hand tools. The most important skills for a heavy equipment operator are loaders, backhoe, and CDL.

Maintenance equipment operator vs heavy equipment operator overview

	Maintenance Equipment Operator	Heavy Equipment Operator
Yearly salary	$36,428	$39,822
Hourly rate	$17.51	$19.15
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	95,918	47,261
Job satisfaction	-	4.6
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 45%	High School Diploma, 54%
Average age	44	45
Years of experience	-	4

Maintenance equipment operator vs heavy equipment operator salary

Maintenance equipment operators and heavy equipment operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Maintenance Equipment Operator	Heavy Equipment Operator
Average salary	$36,428	$39,822
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $47,000	Between $27,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	Sacramento, CA	Trenton, NJ
Highest paying state	Pennsylvania	New Jersey
Best paying company	University of Massachusetts Boston	Moody's
Best paying industry	Energy	Energy

Differences between maintenance equipment operator and heavy equipment operator education

There are a few differences between a maintenance equipment operator and a heavy equipment operator in terms of educational background:

	Maintenance Equipment Operator	Heavy Equipment Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 45%	High School Diploma, 54%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Business
Most common college	-	-

Maintenance equipment operator vs heavy equipment operator demographics

Here are the differences between maintenance equipment operators' and heavy equipment operators' demographics:

	Maintenance Equipment Operator	Heavy Equipment Operator
Average age	44	45
Gender ratio	Male, 96.0% Female, 4.0%	Male, 94.8% Female, 5.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 17.3% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 25.3% Asian, 1.5% White, 50.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8%	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 0.9% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%
LGBT Percentage	10%	2%

Differences between maintenance equipment operator and heavy equipment operator duties and responsibilities

Maintenance equipment operator example responsibilities.

Certify in structural steel (ICC/AWS), concrete (ACI) and soils.
See operator, run a mower with a fecon head.
Perform job functions all under company safety guidelines and dot regulations.
Operate side boom and forklifts.
Pull side dump lowboy, belly dump, and pup trailers.
Move equipment with lowboy and dovetail trailers to and from job sites.

Heavy equipment operator example responsibilities.

Manage and cross-train subordinates in several job-relate tasks while promoting leadership.
Operate trucks and equipment such as backhoe, dump trucks, front-end loader, hydraulic excavator, skid steers and bulldozers.
Operate heavy equipment including, but limit to, backhoe, excavators, bobcats, forklifts, trucks and wheel loaders.
Operate equipment used for construction purposes such as tankers, cranes, bulldozers, loaders, compost mixers and excavators.
Put down mulch cut grass, plant and dig up.
Work with asphalt, cut down trees, and dig trenches.

Maintenance equipment operator vs heavy equipment operator skills

Common maintenance equipment operator skills

CDL, 13%
Asphalt, 9%
Hand Tools, 7%
Dump Truck, 6%
Mowing, 6%
Loaders, 5%

Common heavy equipment operator skills

Loaders, 9%
Backhoe, 6%
CDL, 6%
Asphalt, 5%
Safety Regulations, 5%
Dump Truck, 5%

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Maintenance Equipment Operator vs Heavy Equipment Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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