---
title: "Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanic"
description: "Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul small engines used to power lawn mowers, chain saws, recreational sporting equipment, and related equipment."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/outdoor-power-equipment-and-other-small-engine-mechanic"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanic

**Category:** Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · **SOC code:** 49-3053 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 49-3053.00

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul small engines used to power lawn mowers, chain saws, recreational sporting equipment, and related equipment.

Also advertised as: Chainsaw Technician; Golf Cart Mechanic; Lawnmower Repair Mechanic; Mechanic; Outdoor Power Equipment Service Technician; Service Technician (Service Tech); Shop Mechanic; Small Engine Mechanic.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $47,880 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.02/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $34,670 to $67,260, with the middle half between $40,670 and $58,560
- **Total US employment:** 36,060
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +2.3% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,800 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 36,060 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $34,670 |
| 25th | $40,670 |
| 50th (median) | $47,880 |
| 75th | $58,560 |
| 90th | $67,260 |
| Mean (average) | $49,990 |

### 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 | $60,190 | $58,803 | 50 |
| HI | $58,110 | $52,851 | 210 |
| MA | $57,830 | $54,682 | 800 |
| NH | $57,610 | $55,306 | 210 |
| NV | $56,750 | $56,762 | 170 |
| CT | $56,680 | $54,705 | 560 |
| MN | $55,990 | $56,773 | 630 |
| ID | $55,320 | $57,930 | 190 |
| MO | $55,120 | $60,693 | 690 |
| DE | $54,230 | $54,334 | 80 |
| WA | $53,990 | $50,452 | 590 |
| CO | $52,620 | $51,062 | 690 |
| RI | $52,160 | $50,997 | 100 |
| NJ | $52,000 | $47,792 | 660 |
| VT | $51,250 | $52,318 | 110 |

35 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 50 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/outdoor-power-equipment-and-other-small-engine-mechanic/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/outdoor-power-equipment-and-other-small-engine-mechanic.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 38,300 in the 2025–2035 base year to 39,200 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 900 jobs, or +2.3%. Slower than average: 2.3% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,800 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some 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 |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 48.1% |
| Some College Courses | 27.3% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 12.5% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 12.2% |

## What the work involves

- Test and inspect engines to determine malfunctions, to locate missing and broken parts, and to verify repairs, using diagnostic instruments.
- Repair and maintain gasoline engines used to power equipment such as portable saws, lawn mowers, generators, and compressors.
- Adjust points, valves, carburetors, distributors, and spark plug gaps, using feeler gauges.
- Repair or replace defective parts such as magnetos, water pumps, gears, pistons, and carburetors, using hand tools.
- Perform routine maintenance such as cleaning and oiling parts, honing cylinders, and tuning ignition systems.
- Reassemble engines after repair or maintenance work is complete.
- Record repairs made, time spent, and parts used.
- Dismantle engines, using hand tools, and examine parts for defects.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.5 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
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Selection — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — 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 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Transportation — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Finger Dexterity — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Control Precision — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Visualization — 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 | 3.97 |
| I — Investigative | 2.48 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.26 |
| S — Social | 1.20 |
| 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 | 89.1 |
| ISTP | 78.0 |
| ISFJ | 73.3 |
| ESTJ | 72.2 |
| INTJ | 66.8 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electric-motor-power-tool-and-related-repairer) — median $56,210
- [Bus and Truck Mechanic and Diesel Engine Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/bus-and-truck-mechanic-and-diesel-engine-specialist) — median $61,770
- [Motorcycle Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/motorcycle-mechanic) — median $48,580
- [Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mobile-heavy-equipment-mechanic) — median $65,510
- [Motorboat Mechanic and Service Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/motorboat-mechanic-and-service-technician) — median $57,550
- [Engine and Other Machine Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/engine-and-other-machine-assembler) — median $53,710
- [Industrial Machinery Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-machinery-mechanic) — median $64,520
- [Automotive Service Technician and Mechanic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/automotive-service-technician-and-mechanic) — median $50,620
- [Maintenance Worker, Machinery](https://nuecareer.com/careers/maintenance-worker-machinery) — median $60,850
- [Farm Equipment Mechanic and Service Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/farm-equipment-mechanic-and-service-technician) — median $56,550

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 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, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 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 31.0 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/outdoor-power-equipment-and-other-small-engine-mechanic