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What is a maintenance planner and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
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A maintenance planner is an individual who is responsible for creating, scheduling, and managing maintenance activities for a facility or organization. They work to ensure that all equipment and machinery are functioning properly and efficiently, and develop preventative maintenance plans to minimize downtime and reduce costs. A maintenance planner also coordinates with maintenance technicians, engineers, and other stakeholders to ensure that all work is completed on time and within budget.

ScoreMaintenance PlannerUS Average
Salary
4.5

Avg. Salary $57,625

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
9.3

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.24%

Asian 2.12%

Black or African American 8.36%

Hispanic or Latino 15.94%

Unknown 4.51%

White 67.83%

Gender

female 14.42%

male 85.58%

Age - 50
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50
Stress level
9.3

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
2.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a maintenance planner?

Pros

  • Opportunity to work with a diverse range of equipment and technologies

  • High level of responsibility and autonomy

  • Potential for advancement into management positions

  • Job security due to demand for maintenance services

  • Opportunity to develop specialized skills and knowledge

Cons

  • High level of stress and pressure to meet deadlines and minimize downtime

  • Can involve long hours, including on-call or emergency availability

  • May require physical labor or exposure to hazardous materials

  • Can be mentally demanding, requiring attention to detail and problem-solving skills

  • Can involve dealing with difficult or demanding customers or stakeholders

Maintenance planner career paths

Key steps to become a maintenance planner

  1. Explore maintenance planner education requirements

    Most common maintenance planner degrees

    Bachelor's

    47.5 %

    Associate

    27.7 %

    High School Diploma

    11.5 %
  2. Start to develop specific maintenance planner skills

    SkillsPercentages
    CMMS10.04%
    Maintenance Planning7.51%
    Maintenance Tasks5.75%
    Maintenance Procedures4.79%
    Continuous Improvement4.71%
  3. Complete relevant maintenance planner training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New maintenance planners learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a maintenance planner based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real maintenance planner resumes.
  4. Research maintenance planner duties and responsibilities

    • Manage aircraft TCTO - organization, depot, safety, and commodity as the TCTO manager.
    • Provide turnaround management services to support client's requirement in achieving successful projects.
    • Develop and manage PC base computerized maintenance management and productivity management system (CMMS).
    • Develop and implement safety preventive maintenance per OSHA guidelines.
  5. Prepare your maintenance planner resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your maintenance planner resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a maintenance planner resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable maintenance planner resume templates

    Build a professional maintenance planner resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your maintenance planner resume.
    Maintenance Planner Resume
    Maintenance Planner Resume
    Maintenance Planner Resume
    Maintenance Planner Resume
    Maintenance Planner Resume
    Maintenance Planner Resume
    Maintenance Planner Resume
    Maintenance Planner Resume
    Maintenance Planner Resume
  6. Apply for maintenance planner jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a maintenance planner job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first maintenance planner job

Zippi

Are you a maintenance planner?

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Average maintenance planner salary

The average maintenance planner salary in the United States is $57,625 per year or $28 per hour. Maintenance planner salaries range between $39,000 and $84,000 per year.

Average maintenance planner salary
$57,625 Yearly
$27.70 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do maintenance planners rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Maintenance planner reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Pros

working as a maintenance controller of 5th gen fighter jets is exciting, there is a lot of digging for information and answers with this line of work and it can keep you mentally engaged.

Cons

There can be a lot of pressure to get information in a quick time frame, and it has to be very accurate.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Pros

Recovery and troubleshooting aircraft during AOG situation

Cons

Unimportant report should not be shared and working with people that look like smart but actually very silly


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Cons

Engineering not understanding processes


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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