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Maintenance supervisor vs maintenance technician

The differences between maintenance supervisors 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 supervisor and a maintenance technician. Additionally, a maintenance supervisor has an average salary of $57,674, which is higher than the $43,293 average annual salary of a maintenance technician.

The top three skills for a maintenance supervisor include plumbing, HVAC and customer service. The most important skills for a maintenance technician are plumbing, HVAC, and hand tools.

Maintenance supervisor vs maintenance technician overview

Maintenance SupervisorMaintenance Technician
Yearly salary$57,674$43,293
Hourly rate$27.73$20.81
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs86,333178,450
Job satisfaction34.25
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 27%High School Diploma, 34%
Average age4947
Years of experience44

What does a maintenance supervisor do?

A maintenance supervisor is responsible for directing and managing the overall maintenance department, inspecting the safety of operation equipment, and ensuring that everyone follows the standards and regulatory procedures to keep the production area safe and efficient. Maintenance supervisor duties also include delegating tasks to the maintenance personnel, evaluating the site condition regularly, reviewing inventory, and requesting stocks as necessary. They must also keep track of incident reports and connect with the operations management for any concerns and recommendations.

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 supervisor vs maintenance technician salary

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

Maintenance SupervisorMaintenance Technician
Average salary$57,674$43,293
Salary rangeBetween $41,000 And $79,000Between $31,000 And $59,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, CARichmond, CA
Highest paying stateAlaskaRhode Island
Best paying companyCVR EnergyAnheuser-Busch
Best paying industryAutomotiveManufacturing

Differences between maintenance supervisor and maintenance technician education

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

Maintenance SupervisorMaintenance Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 27%High School Diploma, 34%
Most common majorBusinessElectrical Engineering Technology
Most common collegeSUNY College of Technology at Alfred-

Maintenance supervisor vs maintenance technician demographics

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

Maintenance SupervisorMaintenance Technician
Average age4947
Gender ratioMale, 95.0% Female, 5.0%Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.3% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 67.9% 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 Percentage4%2%

Differences between maintenance supervisor and maintenance technician duties and responsibilities

Maintenance supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Maintain OEE on all equipment to achieve run performance goals and to produce 500MM pounds of finish product a year.
  • Complete plumbing, electrical, general maintenance and re-key requirements.
  • Complete preventative maintenance and repair of electrical and plumbing systems.
  • Control all maintenance relate documentation including work orders and preventative maintenance, utilizing MP2 CMMS software.
  • Develop employee relations programs and enforce OSHA safety regulations; continually advance the effectiveness of safety programs and promote safety operations.
  • Replace motors, ball screws, pumps, drives, and encoders.
  • Show more

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
  • Show more

Maintenance supervisor vs maintenance technician skills

Common maintenance supervisor skills
  • Plumbing, 10%
  • HVAC, 10%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • OSHA, 6%
  • Ladders, 3%
  • General Maintenance, 3%
Common maintenance technician skills
  • Plumbing, 10%
  • HVAC, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Ladders, 4%
  • Electrical Systems, 4%

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