If you’re working in the maintenance world, you may see varying levels of maintenance workers depending on the industry and companies. Most entry-level maintenance workers as maintenance technicians, but what is the average maintenance technician salary?
Whether you’re an aspiring maintenance technician, a recruiter, or just someone looking at different career options, it helps understanding how much the job pays.
In this article, we’ll go over the average maintenance technician salary, along with their duties, responsibilities, and the path to become the ideal maintenance technician.
Let’s get started.
Who is a Maintenance Technician, and What Do Maintenance Technicians Do?
As the job title suggests, maintenance technicians work in the capacity of technicians and general maintenance workers.
There are different types of maintenance technicians, depending on the industry and organization. For example, you can find aircraft maintenance technicians, apartment maintenance technicians, field technicians, maintenance technicians, and maintenance mechanics, among other maintenance technician positions.
The typical maintenance technician job description includes things such as the installation of HVAC systems, upkeep, machinery repairs, heating and plumbing system maintenance, and other maintenance tasks.
Depending on the organization, maintenance technicians may work as general maintenance workers and technicians at the same time.
Typical Duties and Responsibilities of a Maintenance Technician
The duties and responsibilities of maintenance technicians vary greatly depending on the industry and the size and type of organization.
However, on average, a maintenance technician has the following responsibilities.
- Survey buildings and facilities, conduct repairs, and make sure all systems meet health and safety standards.
- Work with electricians to maintain electrical systems, and do basic tasks, such as changing light bulbs.
- Work with plumbers to maintain the facility’s plumbing system.
- Help with the setup of ventilation, refrigeration, and other systems.
- Maintain the locks, doors, controllers, interior walls, exterior walls, fire suppression systems, fire extinguishers, and other facility aspects.
- Manage the upkeep of the landscape, and assist in carpentry and painting activities.
- Work along with maintenance managers, facility managers, senior maintenance technicians, and general maintenance workers to complete daily maintenance tasks.
- Assist in the development of preventative maintenance programs.
While the exact duties and responsibilities vary according to the industry and organization, you can expect the requirements mentioned above in most job openings.
What is the Maintenance Technician Salary in the United States?
Maintenance technician jobs can be full-time, part-time, or even contractual. However, most companies in the United States prefer full-time maintenance technicians to make sure regular maintenance isn’t disturbed. In any case, the job type doesn’t affect the average salary too much.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists several professions under the installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. All of those professions come under the category of maintenance technicians. The average base salary, according to BLS, is $46,630, and there were approximately 173,000 new job openings and job alerts for maintenance technicians or related jobs.
However, it’s best to look at a few other sources to understand how much a maintenance technician makes, according to people’s salary reports.
1. Glassdoor
Glassdoor has become one of the most well-known platforms for salary estimates, where employees can share annual salary reports and post employer reviews.
According to Glassdoor, the national average base salary for maintenance technicians is $39,995. The average pay range is between $25,000 and $53,000.
You can check how the salary estimates change according to different sizes and the years of experience you have.
The estimates on Glassdoor are calculated using the reports received from countless employees at different companies, working in various industries.
It’s best to also search your salary estimate in the industry you want to work in.
2. Indeed
Indeed is a massive job search engine with countless job posts but also doubles as a source for getting salary estimates.
According to Indeed, the average salary for a maintenance technician in the United States is $42,270. Furthermore, the average overtime per year amounts to $6,750.
The site also mentions the most common benefits found in companies. For maintenance technicians, the common benefits include 401k matching, dental insurance, vision insurance, disability insurance, and a general 401k.
According to Indeed, the highest paying cities for maintenance technicians are Atlanta, Houston, Memphis, Charlotte, and Indianapolis.
3. PayScale
PayScale is one of the most trusted sites for getting salary estimates; it provides complete salary and compensation information, along with details on things like the average cost of living.
According to PayScale, the average salary for maintenance technicians is $45,846. That brings the average hourly rate at $18.40.
Furthermore, maintenance technicians can also earn up to $1,031 in bonuses, $1,280 in commissions, and $1,479 in profit-sharing.
The total pay range for maintenance technicians averages between $27,000 and $62,000.
PayScale shows that the highest-paid maintenance technicians can be found in Dallas, New York, San Francisco, and Ashburn.
What’s the Roadmap to Becoming a Maintenance Technician?
Most maintenance technician jobs tend to be entry-level or require little experience, especially the ones that fall towards general maintenance work.
In any case, becoming a maintenance technician usually goes about with the following roadmap.
- Get a high school diploma or a general education degree (GED). Getting a degree from a technical college opens you up to more technical opportunities.
- Spend some years in general maintenance, and work along with maintenance workers and other maintenance technicians.
- Get certified in any one aspect of technical maintenance according to your industry. For example, you can get a certification for a refrigerator technician.
- Have some hands-on experience with computerized maintenance management systems.
On top of that, you should have passive skills, including organizational management, problem-solving, analytical, and time management skills.
It’s also important to have excellent written and verbal communication skills while having expert attention to detail and manual dexterity.
Ending Note
Depending on your industry and organization, you may find varying maintenance technician salaries. Mostly, it depends on how many duties and responsibilities you hold and how many of those responsibilities are purely technical in nature.
In any case, becoming a maintenance technician isn’t that hard, and you’re well-compensated for your efforts. Most importantly, the future roadmap to becoming a senior maintenance technician, maintenance supervisor, or maintenance manager is extremely promising.
Josh is a partner at Maintenance Manager HQ.
