Career
Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics
Repair lawn mowers and small engines.
$47,880
Median pay
+2.3%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,800
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
- Record repairs made, time spent, and parts used.
- Test and inspect engines to determine malfunctions, to locate missing and broken parts, and to verify repairs, using diagnostic instruments.
- Dismantle engines, using hand tools, and examine parts for defects.
- Repair and maintain gasoline engines used to power equipment such as portable saws, lawn mowers, generators, and compressors.
- Adjust points, valves, carburetors, distributors, and spark plug gaps, using feeler gauges.
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?
“Record repairs made, time spent, and parts used.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Troubleshooting, Operations Monitoring.
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 $47,880 a year and 3,800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Small Engine Mechanics and Repair Technology/TechnicianCIP 47.0606
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers$56,210 · +4.4%
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists$61,770 · +3.6%
- Motorcycle Mechanics$48,580 · +2.1%
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines$65,510 · +6.7%
- Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians$57,550 · +4.9%
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.