---
title: "Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines"
description: "Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul mobile mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment, such as cranes, bulldozers, graders, and conveyors, used in…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanic"
last-updated: "2026-08-23T15:56:39.581Z"
---

# Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines

**Category:** Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · **SOC code:** 49-3042 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 49-3042.00

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul mobile mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment, such as cranes, bulldozers, graders, and conveyors, used in construction, logging, and mining.

Also advertised as: Construction Equipment Mechanic; Equipment Mechanic; Equipment Technician; Field Mechanic; Field Service Technician; Field Technician; Heavy Equipment Mechanic; Heavy Equipment Technician.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $65,510 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $31.50/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $46,820 to $94,460, with the middle half between $56,970 and $79,270
- **Total US employment:** 176,600
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +5.8% over 2024–2034 (BLS EP, 2024–2034)
- **Annual job openings:** 16,500 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 66/100 — 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 176,600 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $46,820 |
| 25th | $56,970 |
| 50th (median) | $65,510 |
| 75th | $79,270 |
| 90th | $94,460 |
| Mean (average) | $69,240 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AK | $82,670 | $80,765 | 1,430 |
| NV | $79,860 | $79,877 | 2,870 |
| MN | $79,370 | $80,480 | 2,890 |
| HI | $79,170 | $72,005 | 530 |
| WA | $78,620 | $73,468 | 3,900 |
| CA | $78,550 | $70,945 | 20,080 |
| CT | $78,190 | $75,466 | 1,080 |
| NJ | $78,180 | $71,853 | 3,520 |
| MA | $76,070 | $71,929 | 1,620 |
| ND | $76,030 | $85,466 | 1,720 |
| OR | $74,740 | $72,310 | 2,650 |
| WY | $73,200 | $78,972 | 1,420 |
| MT | $72,560 | $76,665 | 1,330 |
| CO | $71,830 | $69,703 | 4,060 |
| IL | $71,370 | $71,400 | 3,470 |

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

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 188,700 in the 2024–2034 base year to 199,600 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 10,900 jobs, or +5.8%. Faster than average: 5.8% against 3.1% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 16,500 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 | 54.6% |
| High School Diploma | 29.6% |
| Some College Courses | 7.9% |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 5.3% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 2.7% |

## What the work involves

- Repair and replace damaged or worn parts.
- Test mechanical products and equipment after repair or assembly to ensure proper performance and compliance with manufacturers' specifications.
- Adjust, maintain, and repair or replace subassemblies, such as transmissions and crawler heads, using hand tools, jacks, and cranes.
- Read and understand operating manuals, blueprints, and technical drawings.
- Operate and inspect machines or heavy equipment to diagnose defects.
- Clean, lubricate, and perform other routine maintenance work on equipment and vehicles.
- Repair, rewire, and troubleshoot electrical systems.
- Examine parts for damage or excessive wear, using micrometers and gauges.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.9 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 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Selection — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Mechanical — importance 4.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Building and Construction — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Manual Dexterity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Finger Dexterity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Extent Flexibility — 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

## 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 | 4.35 |
| I — Investigative | 3.54 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |
| S — Social | 1.00 |
| E — Enterprising | 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 | 91.5 |
| ISTP | 81.5 |
| INTJ | 72.6 |
| ISFJ | 72.4 |
| ESTJ | 70.7 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Industrial Machinery Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-machinery-mechanic) — median $64,520
- [Bus and Truck Mechanic and Diesel Engine Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/bus-and-truck-mechanic-and-diesel-engine-specialist) — median $61,770
- [Maintenance Worker, Machinery](https://nuecareer.com/careers/maintenance-worker-machinery) — median $60,850
- [Rail Car Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/rail-car-repairer) — median $67,530
- [Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electric-motor-power-tool-and-related-repairer) — median $56,210
- [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
- [Hoist and Winch Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/hoist-and-winch-operator) — median $56,450
- [Millwright](https://nuecareer.com/careers/millwright) — median $65,700
- [Crane and Tower Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/crane-and-tower-operator) — median $68,080

## 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/mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanic