Careers · Explore one path
Highway Maintenance Workers
Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.
Other titles employers use
Equipment Operator (EO) · Highway Maintainer · Highway Maintenance Crew Worker · Highway Maintenance Technician · Highway Maintenance Worker · Maintenance Technician · Maintenance Worker · Transportation Maintenance Operator
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- 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.
- Clean and clear debris from culverts, catch basins, drop inlets, ditches, and other drain structures.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to practical and organizing work.
- Practical
- Building, repairing, using tools, or working outdoors
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Active Listening
- Speaking
Subjects to know
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Transportation
- Building and Construction
- Education and Training
Useful strengths
- Control Precision
- Multilimb Coordination
- Oral Comprehension
- Problem Sensitivity
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 3.7 | Shared rooms, but not shoulder to shoulder |
| On your feet | 4.0 | Up and down through the day |
| Talking face to face | 4.8 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 4.5 | Handling tools, instruments or materials |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a high school diploma. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- High school or less 94%
- A two-year degree 5%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Electronic mail software
- Presentation software
- Word processing software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Internet browser software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 16,440
- Job openings each year
- 280
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 20.4%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 16,440 | 280 | 20.4% |
| Pennsylvania | 11,660 | 1,090 | 9.0% |
| Texas | 10,040 | 970 | 16.6% |
| California | 7,700 | 710 | 8.5% |
| Illinois | 7,420 | 690 | 8.0% |
| Wisconsin | 6,380 | 590 | 6.9% |
| Ohio | 5,980 | 550 | 7.2% |
| Minnesota | 5,470 | 520 | 9.8% |
| Missouri | 5,230 | 480 | 5.9% |
| Iowa | 4,870 | 460 | 12.0% |
| New Jersey | 4,740 | 440 | 6.5% |
| Virginia | 4,530 | 430 | 9.7% |
| Indiana | 4,410 | 410 | 5.8% |
| Puerto Rico | 4,370 | 410 | 10.6% |
| Oklahoma | 4,210 | 410 | 16.0% |
| Mississippi | 3,810 | 360 | 12.4% |
| North Carolina | 3,590 | 340 | 8.1% |
| Alabama | 3,430 | 320 | 8.9% |
| Michigan | 3,290 | 300 | 2.5% |
| Kentucky | 3,080 | 290 | 9.6% |
| Washington | 3,050 | 330 | 13.0% |
| South Carolina | 2,990 | 290 | 13.7% |
| Colorado | 2,940 | 290 | 21.0% |
| Nebraska | 2,540 | 240 | 9.5% |
| Arizona | 2,460 | 230 | 8.4% |
| Georgia | 2,410 | 230 | 14.8% |
| Arkansas | 2,400 | 220 | 7.1% |
| Oregon | 2,290 | 220 | 15.7% |
| South Dakota | 2,190 | 200 | 2.8% |
| Connecticut | 2,150 | 210 | 15.0% |
| Florida | 2,130 | 200 | 12.7% |
| Maine | 2,100 | 190 | 6.1% |
| Kansas | 2,050 | 190 | 10.8% |
| Utah | 1,920 | 190 | 22.3% |
| New Mexico | 1,630 | 150 | 10.1% |
| New Hampshire | 1,520 | 140 | 10.9% |
| Louisiana | 1,350 | 130 | 12.5% |
| Tennessee | 1,320 | 130 | 17.9% |
| Montana | 1,280 | 120 | 16.4% |
| Vermont | 1,210 | 110 | 2.5% |
| Idaho | 1,200 | 110 | 9.1% |
| West Virginia | 1,020 | 90 | 4.1% |
| Wyoming | 990 | 90 | 11.2% |
| North Dakota | 900 | 80 | 8.4% |
| Massachusetts | 730 | 70 | 10.6% |
| Nevada | 720 | 70 | 10.8% |
| Rhode Island | 590 | 60 | 9.3% |
| Maryland | 570 | 60 | 16.3% |
| Virgin Islands | 150 | 10 | −11.8% |
| Alaska | 140 | 10 | 7.7% |
| Delaware | 100 | 10 | 11.1% |
Career to college
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