Maintenance planner vs scheduler

The differences between maintenance planners and schedulers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a maintenance planner, becoming a scheduler takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a maintenance planner has an average salary of $57,625, which is higher than the $40,565 average annual salary of a scheduler.

The top three skills for a maintenance planner include CMMS, maintenance planning and maintenance tasks. The most important skills for a scheduler are patients, customer service, and medical terminology.

Maintenance planner vs scheduler overview

	Maintenance Planner	Scheduler
Yearly salary	$57,625	$40,565
Hourly rate	$27.70	$19.50
Growth rate	-3%	-8%
Number of jobs	71,145	56,890
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	4	2

What does a maintenance planner do?

A maintenance planner is responsible for maintaining the efficiency and optimal performance of the operational tools, equipment, and machinery. Maintenance planners assist with the personnel's request for equipment repairs, requiring them to have excellent knowledge of the mechanical industry to identify inconsistencies and glitches and perform immediate troubleshooting. They schedule maintenance routine checks, upgrade component features, and replace malfunctioning parts as needed. A maintenance planner also supports the staff on the proper usage of machinery by creating procedural manuals and demonstrations.

What does a scheduler do?

A scheduler is responsible for arranging appointments and carrying out reminder calls and correspondence to anyone involved. In a company setting, it is also a scheduler's responsibility to coordinate with various departments and personnel to organize an accurate timetable that will consist of meetings, gatherings, deadlines, or other pressing matters. Furthermore, a scheduler must have attention to detail as one must perform bookkeeping tasks, fix scheduling issues or conflicts, and organize documentation. There are also instances where one must process orders or payments.

Maintenance planner vs scheduler salary

Maintenance planners and schedulers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Maintenance Planner	Scheduler
Average salary	$57,625	$40,565
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $84,000	Between $23,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	Fremont, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Alaska	New York
Best paying company	CVR Energy	BP America Inc
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Construction

Differences between maintenance planner and scheduler education

There are a few differences between a maintenance planner and a scheduler in terms of educational background:

	Maintenance Planner	Scheduler
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	-

Maintenance planner vs scheduler demographics

Here are the differences between maintenance planners' and schedulers' demographics:

	Maintenance Planner	Scheduler
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 85.6% Female, 14.4%	Male, 22.9% Female, 77.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 3.8% White, 70.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	4%	9%

Differences between maintenance planner and scheduler duties and responsibilities

Maintenance planner example 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.
Utilize CMMS (computerize maintenance management system) for preventive maintenance scheduling, work order generating, and equipment management.
Take part in BRC, GMP, and KPI audits.

Scheduler example responsibilities.

Manage clinic visit schedules, rehabilitation conferences, medical exams, trial appearances, depositions, etc.
Utilize knowledge of medical insurance including manage care, Medicare, Medicaid, liability and workman's compensation.
Manage patient pre-op responsibilities, and generate all necessary paperwork.
Schedule procedure, surgery f/u, register new patients, referrals, insurance, send nurse messages.
Schedule patients for test and surgery procedures with and without anesthesia using the Surgi-Server computerize scheduling system.
Schedule patients for radiology and nuclear medicine procedures, verify insurance benefits, and obtain prior authorizations for patient procedures.

Maintenance planner vs scheduler skills

Common maintenance planner skills

CMMS, 10%
Maintenance Planning, 8%
Maintenance Tasks, 6%
Maintenance Procedures, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 5%
Predictive Maintenance, 5%

Common scheduler skills

Patients, 21%
Customer Service, 13%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 5%
Data Entry, 3%
Home Health, 3%

Maintenance Planner vs. similar jobs

Maintenance Planner related careers

Maintenance Planner related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Installation, Maintenance and Repair Industry
Maintenance Planner
Maintenance Planner vs Scheduler

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse installation, maintenance and repair jobs