Industrial Machinery Mechanic Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Industrial Machinery Mechanics earn a median of $64,520 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 27% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $31.02/hr. The middle half earn between $55,010 and $78,780. The top 10% earn $95,170 or more.

The median hourly wage for industrial machinery mechanics is $31.02 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $64,520 annual median works out to about $5,380 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of industrial machinery mechanics earn less than $46,120 a year and the bottom quarter less than $55,010 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Rarely. Even the 90th percentile is $95,170, so fewer than 10% of industrial machinery mechanics earn $100,000 or more (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is District of Columbia at $87,670.

The highest state medians for Industrial Machinery Mechanics are District of Columbia ($87,670), Wyoming ($78,320), Nevada ($77,750) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Wyoming moves to the top at $84,496.

BLS does not split industrial machinery mechanics' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $95,170, against a median of $64,520 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are District of Columbia ($87,670), Wyoming ($78,320), Nevada ($77,750). BLS also counts a specialty career inside this occupation (amusement ride technician), which shares its federal pay figures.

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Industrial Machinery Mechanics. BLS also lists long-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 47.2% hold post-secondary certificate.

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for industrial machinery mechanics is a high school diploma or equivalent. Once hired, BLS lists long-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing medium preparation.

Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 17.8% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 44,400 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Industrial machinery mechanics and machinery maintenance workers maintain and repair factory equipment and other industrial machinery, such as conveying systems, production machinery, and packaging equipment. A core O*NET task: examine parts for defects, such as breakage or excessive wear. Employers most often ask for Electronic mail software, Enterprise resource planning ERP software, Office suite software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 47% of industrial machinery mechanics usually work more than 40 hours a week, 53% work exactly 40 and 0% work fewer. 76% say their schedule is regular and 19% irregular, and 6% work seasonally. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Industrial Machinery Mechanics highest on the Realistic, Conventional and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 3.3% of industrial machinery mechanics, against 47.1% of all employed people: a heavily male-dominated occupation. 27.7% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 45.5 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages, for the Census group "Industrial and refractory machinery mechanics".