---
title: "Maintenance and Repair Worker, General"
description: "Perform work involving the skills of two or more maintenance or craft occupations to keep machines, mechanical equipment, or the structure of a building…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/maintenance-and-repair-worker-general"
last-updated: "2026-08-23T15:56:39.581Z"
---

# Maintenance and Repair Worker, General

**Category:** Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · **SOC code:** 49-9071 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 49-9071.00

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.

Also advertised as: Building Mechanic; Equipment Engineering Technician; Facilities Technician; Maintenance Engineer; Maintenance Journeyman; Maintenance Man; Maintenance Mechanic; Maintenance Specialist.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $49,590 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.84/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $35,350 to $77,180, with the middle half between $40,840 and $62,620
- **Total US employment:** 1,529,700
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +3.8% over 2024–2034 (BLS EP, 2024–2034)
- **Annual job openings:** 159,800 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 64/100 — 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 1,529,700 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $35,350 |
| 25th | $40,840 |
| 50th (median) | $49,590 |
| 75th | $62,620 |
| 90th | $77,180 |
| Mean (average) | $53,780 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DC | $60,310 | $54,877 | 4,860 |
| AK | $60,270 | $58,881 | 4,590 |
| MN | $59,200 | $60,028 | 29,660 |
| WA | $59,160 | $55,283 | 32,450 |
| MA | $58,320 | $55,145 | 29,830 |
| HI | $57,960 | $52,714 | 8,030 |
| NY | $57,790 | $53,548 | 119,650 |
| CT | $57,620 | $55,612 | 11,700 |
| CA | $57,000 | $51,481 | 143,060 |
| IL | $56,720 | $56,744 | 66,600 |
| WI | $55,810 | $59,312 | 30,880 |
| VT | $55,510 | $56,667 | 2,610 |
| NJ | $54,810 | $50,375 | 37,350 |
| OR | $54,350 | $52,583 | 16,160 |
| OH | $53,420 | $57,581 | 64,770 |

39 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 54 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/maintenance-and-repair-worker-general/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/maintenance-and-repair-worker-general.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 1,629,700 in the 2024–2034 base year to 1,692,100 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 62,400 jobs, or +3.8%. About as fast as average: 3.8% against 3.1% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 159,800 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:** Moderate-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 | 63.0% |
| High School Diploma | 24.9% |
| Some College Courses | 6.6% |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 2.9% |
| Master's Degree | 1.2% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 1.1% |

## What the work involves

- 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.
- Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.
- Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.
- Dismantle machines, equipment, or devices to access and remove defective parts, using hoists, cranes, hand tools, or power tools.
- Plan and lay out repair work, using diagrams, drawings, blueprints, maintenance manuals, or schematic diagrams.
- Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.
- Order parts, supplies, or equipment from catalogs or suppliers.
- Clean or lubricate shafts, bearings, gears, or other parts of machinery.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.4 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.

- Equipment Maintenance — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Building and Construction — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Information Ordering — importance 3.9 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
- Near Vision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.4 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).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 7.00 |
| C — Conventional | 4.17 |
| I — Investigative | 2.53 |
| S — Social | 1.75 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.53 |
| A — Artistic | 1.20 |

### 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 | 88.5 |
| ISTP | 76.3 |
| ISFJ | 74.7 |
| ESTJ | 72.9 |
| INTJ | 64.5 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Millwright](https://nuecareer.com/careers/millwright) — median $65,700
- [Aircraft Structure, Surface, Rigging, and Systems Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aircraft-structure-surface-rigging-and-systems-assembler) — median $65,380
- [Plumber](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plumber) — median $63,800
- [Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-installation-maintenance-and-repair-worker) — median $39,630
- [Industrial Machinery Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-machinery-mechanic) — median $64,520
- [Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanic) — median $65,510
- [Boilermaker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/boilermaker) — median $76,410
- [Hydroelectric Plant Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hydroelectric-plant-technician) — median $102,040
- [Engine and Other Machine Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/engine-and-other-machine-assembler) — median $53,710
- [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/maintenance-and-repair-worker-general