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Maintenance technician vs aerospace engineer

The differences between maintenance technicians and aerospace engineers 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 technician and an aerospace engineer. Additionally, an aerospace engineer has an average salary of $100,401, which is higher than the $43,293 average annual salary of a maintenance technician.

The top three skills for a maintenance technician include plumbing, HVAC and hand tools. The most important skills for an aerospace engineer are C++, DOD, and FAA.

Maintenance technician vs aerospace engineer overview

Maintenance TechnicianAerospace Engineer
Yearly salary$43,293$100,401
Hourly rate$20.81$48.27
Growth rate5%6%
Number of jobs178,45042,086
Job satisfaction4.25-
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4744
Years of experience44

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.

What does an aerospace engineer do?

An aerospace engineer specializes in designing, maintaining, and repairing aircraft and spacecraft. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting tests and procedures to identify faults and inconsistencies, lead production processes, performing repairs and improvements, designing systems, and ensuring that all equipment complies with the safety regulations and standards. They are also responsible for producing technical materials such as reports, proposals, and manuals. Furthermore, there are instances where they must set the policies and standards on the equipment they are developing while utilizing their expertise in mathematics, engineering, and sciences.

Maintenance technician vs aerospace engineer salary

Maintenance technicians and aerospace engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Maintenance TechnicianAerospace Engineer
Average salary$43,293$100,401
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $59,000Between $71,000 And $140,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandArizona
Best paying companyAnheuser-BuschThrush Aircraft
Best paying industryManufacturingManufacturing

Differences between maintenance technician and aerospace engineer education

There are a few differences between a maintenance technician and an aerospace engineer in terms of educational background:

Maintenance TechnicianAerospace Engineer
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 34%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorElectrical Engineering TechnologyAerospace Engineering
Most common college-Georgia Institute of Technology

Maintenance technician vs aerospace engineer demographics

Here are the differences between maintenance technicians' and aerospace engineers' demographics:

Maintenance TechnicianAerospace Engineer
Average age4744
Gender ratioMale, 95.7% Female, 4.3%Male, 88.8% Female, 11.2%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 11.0% White, 69.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage2%8%

Differences between maintenance technician and aerospace engineer duties and responsibilities

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

Aerospace engineer example responsibilities.

  • Lead redesign review for cyclic stick, composite to metal, (CATIA).
  • Schedule HVAC equipment to keep equipment off as much as possible and still achieve a healthy, comfortable setting for academics.
  • Manage HVAC retro-commissioning program to optimize facility energy use.
  • Serve as program focal point for integration of radar onto flight test aircraft.
  • Perform design reviews, operations procedural reviews, and failure mode investigations of concept NASA launch vehicles/propulsion systems.
  • Debug and run regression tests.
  • Show more

Maintenance technician vs aerospace engineer skills

Common maintenance technician skills
  • Plumbing, 10%
  • HVAC, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Ladders, 4%
  • Electrical Systems, 4%
Common aerospace engineer skills
  • C++, 15%
  • DOD, 5%
  • FAA, 5%
  • Systems Engineering, 4%
  • Solidworks, 4%
  • NASA, 4%

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