General Inquiry about Industrial Maintenance duties, skills, and pay

I'm wondering what it would take to find an actual "Industrial Maintenance" job, since I've heard a lot of you saying entry level is way above what I'm making now. Pay aside, my job is not very demanding and we work 4 10s half the year, and I am the only maintenance guy here, so I get to do everything "my way" without butting heads. Work here is enjoyable, I work on chillers and coolant lines, mixers and mills, hydraulic lifts, diaphragm pumps, and pneumatic actuators, among other things. I'm not in a hurry to leave an "easy money" job behind.... But an extra $5 or $10 an hour would be hard to turn away. I have almost 10 years of "handyman" experience as well as some HVAC. The Nissan plant near me offered a ridiculously low amount to work HVAC, so I'm also a little pissed off that I can't seem to make much with that experience either, the extreme heat and the wear and tear aren't worth $22/hr.

If you could give me a little insight into any of these questions, I'd appreciate it.

1. Does "entry level" at your job mean "Zero experience", and would 10 years of maintenance experience make a difference?
2. If you are making $35+/hr, do you work in a big city, and is it a union job?
3. Is the work demanding? Does it wear you out? Do you have plenty of downtime or find yourself scratching your ass a lot waiting for something to do?
4. Do you have a lot of overtime or have to work graveyard shift? Do you end up working holidays? Do you find it hard to make time for socializing or your hobbies?
5. Does it suck to have to follow orders from a boss or does that make it easier, to just "do as you're told" and not worry about responsibility?

Anything else you can think of that would indicate why these jobs pay more, such as hazardous or extreme environments, lmk. Maybe its just where I live, but I've never seen maintenance jobs offering $30+/hr. I would even consider an hour commute as long as its not rush hour in a big city.