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Road worker vs highway maintenance technician

The differences between road workers and highway maintenance technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a road worker and a highway maintenance technician. Additionally, a highway maintenance technician has an average salary of $36,871, which is higher than the $34,788 average annual salary of a road worker.

The top three skills for a road worker include asphalt, mowing and county roads. The most important skills for a highway maintenance technician are CDL, highway maintenance, and asphalt.

Road worker vs highway maintenance technician overview

Road WorkerHighway Maintenance Technician
Yearly salary$34,788$36,871
Hourly rate$16.73$17.73
Growth rate4%-
Number of jobs44,11883,424
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 43%High School Diploma, 45%
Average age4747
Years of experience1212

Road worker vs highway maintenance technician salary

Road workers and highway maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Road WorkerHighway Maintenance Technician
Average salary$34,788$36,871
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $46,000Between $25,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City-Denver, CO
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-International Paper
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between road worker and highway maintenance technician education

There are a few differences between a road worker and a highway maintenance technician in terms of educational background:

Road WorkerHighway Maintenance Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 43%High School Diploma, 45%
Most common majorBusinessGeneral Studies
Most common college--

Road worker vs highway maintenance technician demographics

Here are the differences between road workers' and highway maintenance technicians' demographics:

Road WorkerHighway Maintenance Technician
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 88.9% Female, 11.1%Male, 97.5% Female, 2.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 0.5% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 0.5% White, 73.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8%
LGBT Percentage4%4%

Differences between road worker and highway maintenance technician duties and responsibilities

Road worker example responsibilities.

  • Operate various machinery like bulldozers, skid loaders, trucks, mowers, etc.
  • Operate backhoe, tractors, mowers, grader, dump truck, and spray truck.
  • run tractor mowing road sides, run heavy equipment.
  • Gain knowledge in the operation of loaders, graders, backhoes.
  • Operate striping machines, and rotors for crack sealing, sweepers, mowers and forklifts.
  • snow plowing, heavy equipment operator, tree removal roadside mowing, and road resurfacing projects.
  • Show more

Highway maintenance technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage proper storage of equipment, compliance with ANSI, NEC standard and assure OSHA safety regulations.
  • Mow or clear brush from a long road or plow snow from roadway
  • Repair cross/storm drains, cracks, pothole, and perform cold asphalt patch repair and pressure washing as needed.
  • Dump, spread, and tamp asphalt, using one pneumatic tampers, to repair joints and patch broken pavement.
  • Perform routine and emergency maintenance calls, paint, repair drywall safely repair minor electrical problems including HVAC.
  • Operate trucks equip with snowplows and sander attachments to maintain roads in winter weather.

Road worker vs highway maintenance technician skills

Common road worker skills
  • Asphalt, 28%
  • Mowing, 15%
  • County Roads, 9%
  • Traffic Control, 9%
  • CDL, 6%
  • Road Maintenance, 5%
Common highway maintenance technician skills
  • CDL, 27%
  • Highway Maintenance, 19%
  • Asphalt, 9%
  • Hand Tools, 9%
  • Equipment Maintenance, 6%
  • CPR, 6%

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