---
title: "Bus and Truck Mechanic and Diesel Engine Specialist"
description: "Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul buses and trucks, or maintain and repair any type of diesel engines. Includes mechanics working primarily with…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/bus-and-truck-mechanic-and-diesel-engine-specialist"
last-updated: "2026-08-23T15:56:39.581Z"
---

# Bus and Truck Mechanic and Diesel Engine Specialist

**Category:** Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · **SOC code:** 49-3031 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 49-3031.00

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul buses and trucks, or maintain and repair any type of diesel engines. Includes mechanics working primarily with automobile or marine diesel engines.

Also advertised as: Bus Mechanic; Diesel Mechanic; Diesel Technician (Diesel Tech); Fleet Mechanic; General Repair Mechanic; Heavy Truck Mechanic; Service Technician; Trailer Mechanic.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $61,770 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $29.70/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $44,530 to $88,740, with the middle half between $50,540 and $75,470
- **Total US employment:** 289,960
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +2.4% over 2024–2034 (BLS EP, 2024–2034)
- **Annual job openings:** 26,500 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 60/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 289,960 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $44,530 |
| 25th | $50,540 |
| 50th (median) | $61,770 |
| 75th | $75,470 |
| 90th | $88,740 |
| Mean (average) | $64,320 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HI | $80,080 | $72,832 | 690 |
| WA | $77,900 | $72,795 | 7,410 |
| AK | $75,580 | $73,838 | 860 |
| MD | $74,790 | $71,256 | 3,030 |
| CA | $73,950 | $66,790 | 20,940 |
| MA | $73,270 | $69,281 | 4,870 |
| NJ | $72,340 | $66,486 | 8,160 |
| NH | $71,390 | $68,535 | 1,040 |
| CO | $70,480 | $68,393 | 4,600 |
| NY | $70,100 | $64,955 | 13,230 |
| NV | $68,410 | $68,424 | 1,990 |
| CT | $67,300 | $64,955 | 2,860 |
| RI | $67,270 | $65,770 | 350 |
| MN | $66,840 | $67,775 | 7,300 |
| ND | $66,110 | $74,315 | 1,790 |

38 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 53 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/bus-and-truck-mechanic-and-diesel-engine-specialist/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/bus-and-truck-mechanic-and-diesel-engine-specialist.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 319,900 in the 2024–2034 base year to 327,700 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 7,800 jobs, or +2.4%. About as fast as average: 2.4% against 3.1% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 26,500 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2024–2034.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Long-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 39.5% |
| High School Diploma | 36.9% |
| Some College Courses | 21.9% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 1.0% |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 0.7% |

## What the work involves

- Use handtools, such as screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, pressure gauges, or precision instruments, as well as power tools, such as pneumatic wrenches, lathes, welding equipment, or jacks and hoists.
- Perform routine maintenance such as changing oil, checking batteries, and lubricating equipment and machinery.
- Examine and adjust protective guards, loose bolts, and specified safety devices.
- Inspect brake systems, steering mechanisms, wheel bearings, and other important parts to ensure that they are in proper operating condition.
- Adjust and reline brakes, align wheels, tighten bolts and screws, and reassemble equipment.
- Raise trucks, buses, and heavy parts or equipment using hydraulic jacks or hoists.
- Repair or adjust seats, doors, or windows.
- Inspect, test, and listen to defective equipment to diagnose malfunctions, using test instruments such as handheld computers, motor analyzers, chassis charts, or pressure gauges.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Troubleshooting — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Selection — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 4.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Transportation — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Near Vision — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Finger Dexterity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Hearing Sensitivity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 3.73 |
| I — Investigative | 3.27 |
| S — Social | 1.54 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.29 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 89.0 |
| ISTP | 79.9 |
| ISFJ | 71.7 |
| ESTJ | 70.3 |
| INTJ | 69.2 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanic) — median $65,510
- [Rail Car Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rail-car-repairer) — median $67,530
- [Automotive Service Technician and Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/automotive-service-technician-and-mechanic) — median $50,620
- [Motorboat Mechanic and Service Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/motorboat-mechanic-and-service-technician) — median $57,550
- [Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/outdoor-power-equipment-and-other-small-engine-mechanic) — median $47,880
- [Engine and Other Machine Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/engine-and-other-machine-assembler) — median $53,710
- [Motorcycle Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/motorcycle-mechanic) — median $48,580
- [Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electric-motor-power-tool-and-related-repairer) — median $56,210
- [Aircraft Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aircraft-mechanic) — median $79,870
- [Farm Equipment Mechanic and Service Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/farm-equipment-mechanic-and-service-technician) — median $56,550

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 30.3 Database, May 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2024–2034. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/bus-and-truck-mechanic-and-diesel-engine-specialist