Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance.
- Median pay
- $60,850
- Doing it now
- 59,700
- By 2035
- Down 1.9%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
4,400 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Reassemble machines after the completion of repair or maintenance work.
- Start machines and observe mechanical operation to determine efficiency and to detect problems.
- Inspect or test damaged machine parts, and mark defective areas or advise supervisors of repair needs.
- Lubricate or apply adhesives or other materials to machines, machine parts, or other equipment according to specified procedures.
- Install, replace, or change machine parts and attachments, according to production specifications.
- Dismantle machines and remove parts for repair, using hand tools, chain falls, jacks, cranes, or hoists.
- Record production, repair, and machine maintenance information.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/TechniciansSee 2 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $60,850 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.