Maintenance plumber vs drain technician

The differences between maintenance plumbers and drain 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 plumber and a drain technician. Additionally, a drain technician has an average salary of $59,122, which is higher than the $53,733 average annual salary of a maintenance plumber.

The top three skills for a maintenance plumber include plumbing, general maintenance and hand tools. The most important skills for a drain technician are plumbing, sewer lines, and CDL.

Maintenance plumber vs drain technician overview

	Maintenance Plumber	Drain Technician
Yearly salary	$53,733	$59,122
Hourly rate	$25.83	$28.42
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	82,939	25,624
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Maintenance plumber vs drain technician salary

Maintenance plumbers and drain technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Maintenance Plumber	Drain Technician
Average salary	$53,733	$59,122
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $77,000	Between $38,000 And $89,000
Highest paying City	Portland, OR	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	Apple	American Residential Services
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between maintenance plumber and drain technician education

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

	Maintenance Plumber	Drain Technician
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	High School Diploma, 51%
Most common major	Business	General Studies
Most common college	-	-

Maintenance plumber vs drain technician demographics

Here are the differences between maintenance plumbers' and drain technicians' demographics:

	Maintenance Plumber	Drain Technician
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 96.6% Female, 3.4%	Male, 100.0% Female, 0.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 1.9% White, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between maintenance plumber and drain technician duties and responsibilities

Maintenance plumber example responsibilities.

Train and manage less experience plumbers and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Invoice customers and provide customer service assistance with questions regarding residential plumbing preventative maintenance.
Repair and/or replacement of cast iron and PVC pipe.
Perform light to medium HVAC systems' maintenance and repairs.
Assist in electrical, HVAC, maintaining all aspects of plant facilities.
Install all of the weather proofing systems, caulking and flashing of all the areas require by code.

Drain technician example responsibilities.

Used various equipment and tools to unclog drains, camera pipes, install urinals and toilets.
Inspect manholes to locate sewer line stoppages.
Perform trench work, laying pipe, building underground manholes.
Assemble many pieces for custom bags and cushions utilizing good body mechanics.
Install pvc pipe, copper lines and flexible hose for residential water systems.
Remove and replace broken tile section or pipe, using caulking compound and cement to form watertight joint.

Maintenance plumber vs drain technician skills

Common maintenance plumber skills

Plumbing, 26%
General Maintenance, 15%
Hand Tools, 8%
Preventative Maintenance, 7%
Water Heaters, 6%
HVAC, 4%

Common drain technician skills

Plumbing, 52%
Sewer Lines, 11%
CDL, 9%
Commercial Buildings, 7%
Customer Service, 4%
Water Heaters, 2%