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Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
Perform work involving the skills of two or more maintenance or craft occupations to keep machines, mechanical equipment, or the structure of a building in repair. Duties may involve pipe fitting; HVAC maintenance; insulating; welding; machining; carpentry; repairing electrical or mechanical equipment; installing, aligning, and balancing new equipment; and repairing buildings, floors, or stairs.
Other titles employers use
Building Mechanic · Equipment Engineering Technician · Facilities Technician · Maintenance Engineer · Maintenance Journeyman · Maintenance Man · Maintenance Mechanic · Maintenance Specialist
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Perform routine maintenance, such as inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters, or doing other preventive maintenance actions.
- Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.
- Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.
- Repair machines, equipment, or structures, using tools such as hammers, hoists, saws, drills, wrenches, or equipment such as precision measuring instruments or electrical or electronic testing devices.
- Order parts, supplies, or equipment from catalogs or suppliers.
- Diagnose mechanical problems and determine how to correct them, checking blueprints, repair manuals, or parts catalogs, as necessary.
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
- Equipment Maintenance
- Repairing
- Troubleshooting
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
Subjects to know
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Building and Construction
- Mathematics
- Production and Processing
Useful strengths
- Information Ordering
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Manual Dexterity
- Near Vision
- Problem Sensitivity
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 | 3.5 | Shared rooms, but not shoulder to shoulder |
| On your feet | 4.1 | Standing or moving for most of it |
| Talking face to face | 4.8 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 4.4 | 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.
- A certificate or some college 70%
- High school or less 26%
- A two-year degree 3%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Operating system software
- Word processing software
- Project management software
- Computer aided design CAD software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Electronic mail software
- Web page creation and editing software
- Spreadsheet 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
- 161,950
- Job openings each year
- 1,720
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 11.9%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 161,950 | 1,720 | 11.9% |
| Texas | 151,220 | 14,760 | 16.7% |
| California | 144,100 | 13,460 | 7.3% |
| Florida | 118,920 | 11,410 | 12.8% |
| Illinois | 72,590 | 6,680 | 4.4% |
| Ohio | 71,000 | 6,440 | 2.0% |
| Pennsylvania | 63,780 | 5,850 | 3.8% |
| Georgia | 52,100 | 4,970 | 11.5% |
| North Carolina | 52,100 | 4,920 | 9.4% |
| Washington | 42,410 | 4,680 | 14.8% |
| Tennessee | 41,790 | 4,120 | 19.1% |
| Michigan | 41,170 | 3,740 | 2.0% |
| Arizona | 40,000 | 3,840 | 12.8% |
| Indiana | 40,000 | 3,690 | 4.6% |
| New Jersey | 37,990 | 3,470 | 3.0% |
| Virginia | 35,250 | 3,230 | 3.9% |
| Wisconsin | 34,970 | 3,290 | 8.5% |
| Missouri | 34,810 | 3,250 | 7.3% |
| Colorado | 33,290 | 3,180 | 11.7% |
| South Carolina | 32,460 | 3,100 | 11.9% |
| Minnesota | 31,040 | 2,850 | 4.2% |
| Maryland | 24,780 | 2,310 | 7.0% |
| Louisiana | 22,250 | 2,060 | 5.9% |
| Oklahoma | 21,050 | 1,960 | 6.9% |
| Kentucky | 20,100 | 1,870 | 6.6% |
| Oregon | 19,890 | 1,900 | 11.9% |
| Nevada | 19,540 | 1,910 | 17.2% |
| Alabama | 18,590 | 1,730 | 6.9% |
| Utah | 17,350 | 1,720 | 20.7% |
| Iowa | 16,570 | 1,560 | 8.2% |
| Mississippi | 14,530 | 1,340 | 5.1% |
| Connecticut | 14,380 | 1,370 | 11.8% |
| Arkansas | 13,670 | 1,280 | 7.0% |
| Kansas | 13,370 | 1,240 | 5.0% |
| Puerto Rico | 11,270 | 1,050 | 6.3% |
| Nebraska | 11,130 | 1,040 | 7.4% |
| Massachusetts | 11,030 | 1,030 | 6.5% |
| New Mexico | 10,570 | 1,020 | 14.6% |
| West Virginia | 9,040 | 830 | 4.4% |
| Idaho | 8,300 | 800 | 14.8% |
| New Hampshire | 6,310 | 590 | 8.8% |
| Maine | 6,000 | 540 | −1.2% |
| Montana | 5,950 | 570 | 12.3% |
| Rhode Island | 5,110 | 480 | 9.9% |
| District of Columbia | 4,970 | 470 | 9.0% |
| Wyoming | 4,620 | 450 | 14.6% |
| Alaska | 4,390 | 410 | 8.7% |
| North Dakota | 4,370 | 410 | 7.9% |
| Delaware | 4,260 | 400 | 8.7% |
| South Dakota | 3,640 | 340 | 8.7% |
| Vermont | 2,770 | 260 | 9.9% |
| Guam | 1,050 | 110 | 12.9% |
| Virgin Islands | 840 | 80 | 1.2% |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
The University of Texas at San Antonio
- Degrees each year
- 76
- Admit rate
- 88%
- Annual cost after aid
- $9,000
Rowan University
- Degrees each year
- 56
- Admit rate
- 78%
- Annual cost after aid
- $19,000
Tuskegee University
- Degrees each year
- 12
- Admit rate
- 31%
- Annual cost after aid
- $35,000
Thomas Jefferson University
- Degrees each year
- 4
- Admit rate
- 86%
- Annual cost after aid
- $25,000
SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
- Degrees each year
- 2
- Admit rate
- 88%
- Annual cost after aid
- $19,000
Compare every college offering building/construction finishing, management, and inspection