Career
Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers
Help mechanics and repairers on the job.
$39,630
Median pay
+5.3%
Job growth, 2025–35
13,600
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Install or replace machinery, equipment, and new or replacement parts and instruments, using hand or power tools.
- Examine and test machinery, equipment, components, and parts for defects to ensure proper functioning.
- Tend and observe equipment and machinery to verify efficient and safe operation.
- Adjust, connect, or disconnect wiring, piping, tubing, and other parts, using hand or power tools.
- Clean or lubricate vehicles, machinery, equipment, instruments, tools, work areas, and other objects, using hand tools, power tools, and cleaning equipment.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Install or replace machinery, equipment, and new or replacement parts and instruments, using hand or power tools.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Operation and Control.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $39,630 a year and 13,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Helpers--Production Workers$39,070 · -8.2%
- Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$42,360 · +2.4%
- Helpers--Electricians$42,670 · +0.6%
- Helpers--Extraction Workers$47,730 · +1.7%
- Helpers--Carpenters$43,780 · -1.7%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.