Career
Highway maintenance workers
Keep highways safe and in repair.
$50,260
Median pay
+3.4%
Job growth, 2025–35
11,800
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
- Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
- Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
- Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.
- Drive trucks to transport crews and equipment to work sites.
- Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.
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?
“Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Coordination.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $50,260 a year and 11,800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment OperationCIP 49.0202
- Flagging and Traffic ControlCIP 49.0207
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$59,850 · +4.6%
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators$53,340 · -0.9%
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators$70,070 · +1.5%
- Pile Driver Operators$73,300 · -5.7%
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners$49,880 · +7.8%
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.