Section chief vs maintenance planner

The differences between section chiefs and maintenance planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a section chief and a maintenance planner. Additionally, a section chief has an average salary of $78,816, which is higher than the $57,625 average annual salary of a maintenance planner.

The top three skills for a section chief include safety procedures, training programs and professional development. The most important skills for a maintenance planner are CMMS, maintenance planning, and maintenance tasks.

Section chief vs maintenance planner overview

	Section Chief	Maintenance Planner
Yearly salary	$78,816	$57,625
Hourly rate	$37.89	$27.70
Growth rate	6%	-3%
Number of jobs	13,655	71,145
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	4	4

What does a section chief do?

A section chief's job varies with the type of organization. In most cases, a section chief is the head of a given section in an organization that is tasked with performing certain duties. A section chief is the head of a unit and provides leadership, motivation, and management of a section of employees. Their duties and responsibilities include reviewing and overseeing budgets, expenditure, and section activities.

What does a maintenance planner do?

A maintenance planner is responsible for maintaining the efficiency and optimal performance of the operational tools, equipment, and machinery. Maintenance planners assist with the personnel's request for equipment repairs, requiring them to have excellent knowledge of the mechanical industry to identify inconsistencies and glitches and perform immediate troubleshooting. They schedule maintenance routine checks, upgrade component features, and replace malfunctioning parts as needed. A maintenance planner also supports the staff on the proper usage of machinery by creating procedural manuals and demonstrations.

Section chief vs maintenance planner salary

Section chiefs and maintenance planners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Section Chief	Maintenance Planner
Average salary	$78,816	$57,625
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $163,000	Between $39,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Fremont, CA
Highest paying state	New York	Alaska
Best paying company	Learjet	CVR Energy
Best paying industry	Government	Hospitality

Differences between section chief and maintenance planner education

There are a few differences between a section chief and a maintenance planner in terms of educational background:

	Section Chief	Maintenance Planner
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Section chief vs maintenance planner demographics

Here are the differences between section chiefs' and maintenance planners' demographics:

	Section Chief	Maintenance Planner
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 88.4% Female, 11.6%	Male, 85.6% Female, 14.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 2.1% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between section chief and maintenance planner duties and responsibilities

Section chief example responsibilities.

Manage sortie production on 17 USAF E-8C aircraft worth $6.2 billion.
Manage HAZMAT accumulation storage points and documentation.
Manage training time effectively ensuring employees have every opportunity to learn necessary skills to succeed in a combat environment.
Assist in planning, implementing and administering educational training that enhance performance in combat operations for soldiers to accomplish every mission.
Provide leadership and knowledge of federal shipping and logistics regulations by managing adherence to all policies and procedures from higher headquarters.
Complete HAZMAT transport course and establish on-site certifying capability.

Maintenance planner example responsibilities.

Manage aircraft TCTO - organization, depot, safety, and commodity as the TCTO manager.
Provide turnaround management services to support client's requirement in achieving successful projects.
Develop and manage PC base computerized maintenance management and productivity management system (CMMS).
Develop and implement safety preventive maintenance per OSHA guidelines.
Utilize CMMS (computerize maintenance management system) for preventive maintenance scheduling, work order generating, and equipment management.
Take part in BRC, GMP, and KPI audits.

Section chief vs maintenance planner skills

Common section chief skills

Safety Procedures, 22%
Training Programs, 9%
Professional Development, 7%
Logistical Support, 6%
Combat, 6%
Corrective Action, 5%

Common maintenance planner skills

CMMS, 10%
Maintenance Planning, 8%
Maintenance Tasks, 6%
Maintenance Procedures, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 5%
Predictive Maintenance, 5%

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Installation, Maintenance and Repair Industry
Section Chief
Section Chief vs Maintenance Planner

Updated January 8, 2025

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