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Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
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 Known As:
Building Mechanic
Equipment Engineering Technician
Facilities Technician
Maintenance Engineer
Maintenance Journeyman
Maintenance Man
Maintenance Mechanic
Maintenance Specialist
Maintenance Technician
Maintenance Worker
Wages
Annual wages for Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
1,698,300
5% Change From 2023
Explore Maintenance and Repair Workers, General video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Design new equipment to aid in the repair or maintenance of machines, mechanical equipment, or building structures.
- Record type and cost of maintenance or repair work.
- Estimate costs to repair machinery, equipment, or building structures.
- Clean or lubricate shafts, bearings, gears, or other parts of machinery.
- Dismantle machines, equipment, or devices to access and remove defective parts, using hoists, cranes, hand tools, or power tools.
- Install equipment to improve the energy or operational efficiency of residential or commercial buildings.
- Diagnose mechanical problems and determine how to correct them, checking blueprints, repair manuals, or parts catalogs, as necessary.
- Clean or lubricate shafts, bearings, gears, or other parts of machinery.
- Paint or repair roofs, windows, doors, floors, woodwork, plaster, drywall, or other parts of building structures.
- Inspect used parts to determine changes in dimensional requirements, using rules, calipers, micrometers, or other measuring instruments.
- Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.
- Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.
- Perform general cleaning of buildings or properties.
- Provide groundskeeping services, such as landscaping or snow removal.
- Maintain or repair specialized equipment or machinery located in cafeterias, laundries, hospitals, stores, offices, or factories.
- Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.
- Plan and lay out repair work, using diagrams, drawings, blueprints, maintenance manuals, or schematic diagrams.
- Order parts, supplies, or equipment from catalogs or suppliers.
- Fabricate or repair counters, benches, partitions, or other wooden structures, such as sheds or outbuildings.
- Set up and operate machine tools to repair or fabricate machine parts, jigs, fixtures, or tools.
- Operate cutting torches or welding equipment to cut or join metal parts.
- Train or manage maintenance personnel or subcontractors.
- Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.
- Diagnose mechanical problems and determine how to correct them, checking blueprints, repair manuals, or parts catalogs, as necessary.
- Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.
- Perform routine maintenance on boilers, such as replacing burners or hoses, installing replacement parts, or reinforcing structural weaknesses to ensure optimal boiler efficiency.
- Perform routine maintenance on boilers, such as replacing burners or hoses, installing replacement parts, or reinforcing structural weaknesses to ensure optimal boiler efficiency.
- Train or manage maintenance personnel or subcontractors.
- Provide groundskeeping services, such as landscaping or snow removal.
- Assemble boilers at installation sites, using tools such as levels, plumb bobs, hammers, torches, or other hand tools.
- Position, attach, or blow insulating materials to prevent energy losses from buildings, pipes, or other structures or objects.
- Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.
- Dismantle machines, equipment, or devices to access and remove defective parts, using hoists, cranes, hand tools, or power tools.
- Perform routine maintenance, such as inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters, or doing other preventive maintenance actions.
- Plan and lay out repair work, using diagrams, drawings, blueprints, maintenance manuals, or schematic diagrams.
- Perform routine maintenance, such as inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters, or doing other preventive maintenance actions.
- Align and balance new equipment after installation.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")