Maintenance and Repair Workers, General

Overview

Maintenance and Repair Workers, General has a national median salary of $49,590 per year, with +4.2% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Perform work involving the skills of two or more maintenance or craft occupations to keep machines, mechanical equipment, or the structure of a building in repair. Duties may involve pipe fitting; HVAC maintenance; insulating; welding; machining; carpentry; repairing electrical or mechanical equipment; installing, aligning, and balancing new equipment; and repairing buildings, floors, or stairs.

Work Values

• Support
• Independence
• Relationships

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Perform routine maintenance, such as inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters, or doing other preventive maintenance actions.
• Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.
• Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.
• Repair machines, equipment, or structures, using tools such as hammers, hoists, saws, drills, wrenches, or equipment such as precision measuring instruments or electrical or electronic testing devices.
• Order parts, supplies, or equipment from catalogs or suppliers.

Work Activities

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment
• Getting Information
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Controlling Machines and Processes

Detailed Work Activities

• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
• Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished an associate's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Associate's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for a high school diploma or equivalent.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Maintenance and Repair Workers, General:

Video Resources