Career Path Guide
If you’re interested and competent in the mechanics of building operations, but you want a desk job that involves directing the work of others, becoming a maintenance manager could be a good career choice for you.
As a maintenance manager, you would oversee the maintenance, repair and upkeep of buildings that have heating, mechanical and electrical systems.
To get into this field, you’ll likely need a combination of relevant experience and education, which will provide you with the necessary technical and managerial skills and competencies.
Education You’ll Need
Having a power engineering or building operator certificate or diploma is sufficient education for many maintenance manager jobs.
However, the educational requirements can vary quite a bit from one job to the next.
For example, some employers will only require that you have a high school diploma, (provided you have a good amount of relevant experience), while others will require that you have a chemical, mechanical or industrial engineering degree.
Work Experience Requirements
In addition to relevant education, many employers will require that you have a few years worth of experience in building maintenance, preferably in roles of progressive responsibility.
Although having relevant education will almost certainly boost your chances of getting hired, some employers will still take you on if you have enough work experience, especially if it’s directly relevant to their operations.
Core Competencies Needed
So, what's all this education and experience for? Well basically, to help you develop the core competencies necessary for being an effective maintenance manager. These core competencies include:
• Predictive Maintenance
• Preventive Maintenance
• Inventory and Procurement
• Maintenance Planning and Scheduling
• Computerized Maintenance Management Systems
• Maintenance Training and Work Cultures
• Reliability Centered Maintenance
• Total Productive Maintenance
• Maintenance Return on Investment
• Safety and Health
• Indoor Air Quality
What You’d Be Doing: General Job Description
As a maintenance manager, it would be your job to oversee the maintenance, repair and upkeep of your organization’s buildings that have heating, mechanical and electrical systems. This may include commercial, industrial, or in some cases residential buildings.
General Job Duties
Although the functions you would perform could vary from job to job, tasks you would be responsible for performing might include:
• Overseeing renovations projects, which may include increasing the building’s energy efficiency
• Examining energy consumption patterns in order to plan for long term maintenance and modernization
• Interacting with all levels of the organization, contractors, and external customers
• Ensuring the enforcement of policies, procedures, and Health and Safety regulations
• Performing administrative duties such as payroll and overtime tracking
• Being on call frequently in case of emergencies
• Inspecting physical state of buildings on a regular basis
• Supervising the work of maintenance staff
• Keeping up to date with industry knowledge
Is Maintenance Management Right for You?
You’ll be very well suited for a career as a maintenance manager if the following traits describe you:
• You have mechanical aptitude
• You enjoy directing and supervising the work of others
• You’re interested in a career that blends building operations with personnel management
• You’re willing to be ultimately responsible for the maintenance and repair activities of a building
• You’re willing to be on-call in case of emergencies
What Kind of Salary Can You Earn?
The salary level you could earn as a maintenance manager can vary, typically depending on the following factors:
• Your professional qualifications (education, experience, etc.)
• The size and budget of your employer
• The region in which you work
• The scope of your job duties
• Many other factors
Maintenance Manager Salary in Alberta: According to the 2019 Alberta Wage and Salary Survey, the average salary level of Albertans working in the “Facility operation and maintenance managers” occupational group is $86,072 per year.
Salary - British Columbia: According to WorkBC (Province of British Columbia), those working in the “Facility operation and maintenance managers” occupational group earn an annual provincial median salary of $72,800.
Salary - United Kingdom: According to the National Careers Service, workers in the Facilities Managers occupational group can earn from £26,000 to £45,000 a year. Those in senior or regional roles can earn up to £60,000 a year or more.
Salary - United States: According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary level of Americans working in the Administrative Services Managers occupational group (which includes Facilities Managers) is $83,790 per year.
Where Would You Work?
As a maintenance manager, you could be employed by a wide range of organizations, from logistics companies, to hotels, to real estate management companies, to vegan convenience food manufacturers.
You could also be employed by specialist contractors, or by large multi-service companies that provide a full range of design, building, finance and management services.
As for geographical locations, jobs for maintenance managers can be found almost anywhere, not just in large urban centres.
Current Job Postings
Our job board below has "maintenance manager" postings in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Typical Work Environment
Working Hours: Your working hours would vary from job to job. You might work a standard weekday schedule, or you might work different shifts, including late nights, early mornings and weekends/holidays. Either way, your work would likely involve being on-call at certain times in case of emergencies.
Work Setting: Your work would be office-based, but you would probably need to do some travelling, particularly if you work for a large, multi-site company. You may also be exposed to different weather conditions, heights, enclosed spaces and other hazards, as you may have to inspect different areas of the building’s interior and exterior.
Careers Similar to ‘Maintenance Manager’
Listed below are occupations in our database that have similar responsibilities, and/or require similar skills, or be in the same sector of industry, as "maintenance manager":
References
Information for this career guide was compiled from the websites listed below. Some information has also been compiled from actual job postings from various organizations, which cannot be listed here due to the brief nature of their online availability.
Wages & Salaries in Alberta: “Facility operation and maintenance managers.” (n.d.). Alberta Learning Information Service website. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
Resources: “CPMM - Certified Professional Maintenance Manager.” (n.d.) Association for Facilities Engineering website. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
Explore Careers: “Facilities Manager.” (n.d.) National Careers Service website. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
Explore Careers: “Facility operation and maintenance managers.” (December 11, 2018). WorkBC website - Province of British Columbia. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
Scholarships for Becoming a Maintenance Manager
The “Relevant University Majors” section below shows fields of study relevant to a career as a maintenance manager. You can search for scholarships matched to those fields of study on the following pages:
Business Administration Scholarships
Industrial Engineering Scholarships
Success Tip: Be sure to apply for any scholarships that you even barely qualify for, as there are millions of dollars of scholarships that go unused every year due to a lack of applicants!
Relevant University Majors
Studying one of the college/university majors listed below can be help set an excellent foundation for this profession. Click on the links to find out what else you can do with these majors!
