Quick answer:Maintenance supervision programs train the supervisor step above industrial maintenance, HVAC and diesel work. Supervisors earn a median $79,860 against $49,590 for general maintenance workers, $61,010 for HVAC mechanics and $61,770 for diesel specialists, with a 75th percentile of $101,360 across 617,500 jobs (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The credential is usually a certificate or associate degree layered on a trade.
Maintenance Supervision at a Glance
Metric
Detail
Source
Median annual wage
$79,860
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Wage range
$49,600 (10th pct) - $126,790 (90th pct)
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Employment
617,500 mechanic, installer and repairer supervisors
BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change (2024-34)
3.1%, about 52,400 openings per year
BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34
Typical credential
Certificate or associate degree, on top of trade experience
Program catalogs
Professional certification
CMRP, from the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals
SMRP
License
None for the supervisor; the underlying trade is often licensed
State licensing boards
SOC codes covered
49-1011 maintenance supervisors; 49-9071 general maintenance and repair workers; 49-9021 HVAC mechanics and installers; 49-3031 bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists; 11-3013 facilities managers
BLS OEWS, May 2025
The Wage Step
Role
Median
75th percentile
Employment
Maintenance and repair workers, general
$49,590
$62,620
1,529,700
HVAC mechanics and installers
$61,010
$77,060
409,670
Bus and truck mechanics, diesel specialists
$61,770
$75,470
289,960
Maintenance supervisors
$79,860
$101,360
617,500
Facilities managers
$106,660
$138,870
156,180
All figures BLS OEWS, May 2025.
The feeder pool here is the largest of any page on this site. 1,529,700 general maintenance workers plus 409,670 HVAC mechanics plus 289,960 diesel specialists is more than 2.2 million people, and 617,500 supervisor positions sit directly above them.
What Changes When You Supervise
The technical work stops being the job. That sounds obvious and is the single most common thing new supervisors underestimate.
Planning replaces reacting. A well-run maintenance department is measured on how much work is planned rather than emergency, and the supervisor owns that ratio. Work order systems, backlog management and preventive maintenance scheduling are the daily tools.
Reliability replaces repair. The question shifts from “how do I fix this” to “why did this fail and what does it cost us when it does.” Failure analysis, criticality ranking and condition monitoring are the coursework that supports it.
You own the budget and the compliance. Parts inventory, contractor spend, and the safety and environmental compliance attached to the work - lockout/tagout, confined space, refrigerant handling - all land on the supervisor.
What the Coursework Covers
Maintenance planning and scheduling - work order systems, backlog, preventive and predictive programs
Industrial safety and compliance - OSHA general industry, lockout/tagout, confined space, refrigerant handling under EPA Section 608
Budgeting and inventory - spare parts strategy, contractor management, cost tracking
Building and plant systems - electrical distribution, HVAC, boilers, compressed air, controls
Supervision - scheduling people rather than tasks, and managing across trades you did not come up in
Licensing and Certification
Supervising mechanics and installers is not a licensed occupation, but the trades underneath it often are. Electrical and HVAC work in particular are licensed in most states, and EPA Section 608 certification is federally required for anyone who handles refrigerants.
The credential employers ask for by name is the CMRP from SMRP, which pairs an examination with documented experience. Requirements differ by state and by the specific trade, so confirm with your state licensing board for the underlying trade rather than assuming.
Credit transfer is decided by the receiving institution and genuinely varies, so request a written transfer evaluation before you enroll.
The Planner Role, and Why It Matters Here
There is an intermediate step between technician and supervisor that most people do not know exists until they are offered it: maintenance planner or scheduler.
The planner does not supervise anyone. The job is to look at the work coming in, decide what it needs - parts, permits, people, time - and build a schedule the supervisor can execute. It is analytical rather than managerial, and for technicians who want off the tools without taking on personnel responsibility it is often the better fit.
It is also the best available preparation for supervision. A planner learns the work order system, the parts inventory, the contractor relationships and the backlog before ever having to manage a person. Much of the coursework on this page - planning and scheduling, reliability fundamentals, budgeting - is aimed at exactly this role as much as at supervision.
If your department has a planner position, it is worth asking what it takes to move into it. If it does not, that absence is itself information about how the department runs.
Is It Worth It?
The case for is the breadth. Maintenance supervision is one of the few roles on this site that exists in essentially every industry and every metro, which means the credential is portable in a way that plant-specific or trade-specific ones are not. The wage step is substantial and the feeder pool is enormous.
The case against is that the shape of the job varies wildly between a hospital, a food plant and a truck fleet, and coursework can only prepare you for the common core. The rest is learned in the specific building. If you would rather stay technical, online industrial technology degree and mechatronics and robotics degree keep you on the equipment.
Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do maintenance supervisors make?
The national median annual wage for first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers and repairers is $79,860 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The bottom 10 percent earn $49,600 or less and the top 10 percent earn $126,790 or more, across employment of 617,500. General maintenance and repair workers, the largest feeder occupation, have a median of $49,590.
What degree do maintenance supervisors need?
Most hold a certificate or associate degree in maintenance or mechanical technology rather than a bachelor's, and many hold no degree at all. The credential earns its place at the point where the job stops being about fixing equipment and starts being about planning work, controlling a budget and being responsible for other technicians.
Can you study maintenance supervision online?
The supervision and planning coursework transfers well to an online format - work order systems, reliability methods, budgeting and safety are all classroom subjects. The hands-on technical component does not, which is why these programs assume you bring the trade with you.
What is CMRP certification?
The Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional credential from SMRP is the recognized professional certification in this field. It combines an examination with documented experience across maintenance strategy, work management, equipment reliability and organizational leadership. Employers name it more often than any degree.
Do maintenance supervisors need a trade license?
The supervisor role itself is not licensed, but the trades underneath it often are - electrical and HVAC work in particular. EPA Section 608 certification is federally required for anyone handling refrigerants. Requirements differ by state and by the specific work, so confirm with your state licensing board for the underlying trade.
Where do maintenance supervisors work?
Wherever there is equipment to keep running: manufacturing plants, hospitals, universities, data centers, transit fleets and commercial property portfolios. That breadth is why the occupation is spread across nearly every metro rather than concentrated in a few.
Is this a realistic step from HVAC or diesel work?
It is a common one. HVAC mechanics earn a median $61,010 and diesel specialists $61,770 against $79,860 for supervisors, with a 75th percentile of $101,360 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The move usually happens gradually, through lead technician and planner roles, rather than in one jump. Individual outcomes may vary.
Colleges Offering This Degree
How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention.
Advertising plays no part.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by
BOC Score with the highest at the top.
10 of them carry a score.
LOCAL RANK
Location / proximity to this page
Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish
30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off
25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher
20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two
15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working
10%
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal
about the institution rather than about this subject.
Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from
this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 - First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers (SOC 49-1011), Maintenance and Repair Workers, General (SOC 49-9071), Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (SOC 49-9021), Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (SOC 49-3031), Facilities Managers (SOC 11-3013)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2024-34
Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP), CMRP certification
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Section 608 technician certification
U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Completions, 2024 - CIP 47.0000 and 46.0401
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
