Career
Maintenance workers, machinery
Maintain machines in factories and plants.
$60,850
Median pay
-1.9%
Job growth, 2025–35
4,400
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
- Dismantle machines and remove parts for repair, using hand tools, chain falls, jacks, cranes, or hoists.
- Reassemble machines after the completion of repair or maintenance work.
- Record production, repair, and machine maintenance information.
- 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.
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?
“Dismantle machines and remove parts for repair, using hand tools, chain falls, jacks, cranes, or hoists.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Repairing, Troubleshooting, Equipment Maintenance, Operations Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though long-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $60,850 a year and 4,400 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/TechnicianCIP 47.0303
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics$64,520 · +17.8%
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$46,550 · -10.8%
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers$56,210 · +4.4%
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$47,180 · +0.6%
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines$65,510 · +6.7%
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.