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The differences between maintenance technicians and service technicians 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 technician, becoming a service technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a maintenance technician has an average salary of $43,293, which is higher than the $40,379 average annual salary of a service technician.
The top three skills for a maintenance technician include plumbing, HVAC and hand tools. The most important skills for a service technician are plumbing, customer service, and preventative maintenance.
| Maintenance Technician | Service Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $43,293 | $40,379 |
| Hourly rate | $20.81 | $19.41 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 178,450 | 254,533 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.25 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
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.
Service technicians are assigned in the field to address the concerns of their clients. Service technicians are responsible for the installation, maintenance, or repair of different units or items related to their company's products or services. They should be familiar with their company's products so that they can properly install, maintain, or repair them. They conduct diagnostics and analysis to assess the condition of the unit they are servicing and properly address problems. They also do routine maintenance check-ups. Service technicians are expected to be trustworthy, have good analytical skills, and have good decision-making skills.
Maintenance technicians and service technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Maintenance Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average salary | $43,293 | $40,379 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $59,000 | Between $28,000 And $57,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Anheuser-Busch | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between a maintenance technician and a service technician in terms of educational background:
| Maintenance Technician | Service Technician | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Associate Degree, 29% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering Technology | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between maintenance technicians' and service technicians' demographics:
| Maintenance Technician | Service Technician | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.7% Female, 4.3% | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 1.7% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 1% |