Alabama·Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations·SOC 49-9012

Best Control programs in Alabama, ranked by enrollment

Install, repair, and maintain mechanical regulating and controlling devices, such as electric meters, gas regulators, thermostats, safety and flow valves, and other mechanical.

16 schools in Alabama run programs that feed this job, graduating 933 people a year. The job pays a median of $61,670 in Alabama across about 430 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledMeter TechnicianValve TechnicianMeasurement TechnicianInstrument and Electrical Technician (I and E Technician)MechanicMetermanSalvagerValve Grinder
Graduates / yr
933
in Alabama
Median pay · Alabama
$61,670
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
430
people employed
Schools
16
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
36%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Alabama that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

1 programs in Alabama that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Alabama (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Alabama page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 47.0303In Alabama
933
100.0%
16$51,920$9,786

Top 16 schools in Alabama

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 16 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Gadsden State Community College
Gadsden, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
224Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$37,59538%
2J F Ingram State Technical College
Deatsville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
176Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician21%
3Southern Union State Community College
Wadley, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
162Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician36%
4Northwest Shoals Community College
Muscle Shoals, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
96Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician39%
5Northeast Alabama Community College
Rainsville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
70Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician56%
6Snead State Community College
Boaz, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
55Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician49%
7Enterprise State Community College
Enterprise, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
33Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician42%
8Reid State Technical College
Evergreen, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
30Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician59%
9Shelton State Community College
Tuscaloosa, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
29Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician30%
10George C Wallace Community College - Dothan
Dothan, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
18Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician35%
11H Councill Trenholm State Community College
Montgomery, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
13Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician16%
12Lawson State Community College
Birmingham, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
12Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician27%
13George C Wallace State Community College - Selma
Selma, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
8Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician41%
14Bevill State Community College
Jasper, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
3Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician38%
15University of West Alabama
Livingston, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
3Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician35%43%
16J. F. Drake State Community and Technical College
Huntsville, AL Public · 1 feeder programs
1Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician14%

All 16 schools in Alabama

Every school in Alabama with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Alabama that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Gadsden State Community CollegeGadsdenPublic2241
J F Ingram State Technical CollegeDeatsvillePublic1761
Southern Union State Community CollegeWadleyPublic1621
Northwest Shoals Community CollegeMuscle ShoalsPublic961
Northeast Alabama Community CollegeRainsvillePublic701
Snead State Community CollegeBoazPublic551
Enterprise State Community CollegeEnterprisePublic331
Reid State Technical CollegeEvergreenPublic301
Shelton State Community CollegeTuscaloosaPublic291
George C Wallace Community College - DothanDothanPublic181
H Councill Trenholm State Community CollegeMontgomeryPublic131
Lawson State Community CollegeBirminghamPublic121
George C Wallace State Community College - SelmaSelmaPublic81
Bevill State Community CollegeJasperPublic31
University of West AlabamaLivingstonPublic31

What control and valve installers and repairers earn in Alabama

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Alabama
$61,670
Mean annual
$69,580
Jobs in state
430
What the range looks like
10th pct$40,680Median$61,67090th pct$103,460
Versus the national median
-17.0%

U.S. median $74,340. Alabama pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.66×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Alabama

Birmingham, AL
$77,600median
120 jobs
Anniston-Oxford, AL
$64,400median
50 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+1.3%
Little or no change
Openings per year
3,900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
600
47,700 → 48,300
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Control and Valve Installers and Repairers page.

How to become a Control

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingWritingReading Comprehension

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Alabama

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 2 majors mapped to Control and Valve Installers and Repairers2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 47.0302Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician
  • 47.0303Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing control and valve installers and repairers programs in Alabama.

What degree do you need to become a Control?+

High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician, which awarded 933 degrees in Alabama in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Control?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Heavy/Industrial Equipment Maintenance Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 933 people a year in Alabama.

How much do control and valve installers and repairers earn in Alabama?+

The median is $61,670 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.0% below the U.S. median of $74,340. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for control and valve installers and repairers growing?+

BLS projects a +1.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 3,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Alabama?+

16 institutions in Alabama reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do control and valve installers and repairers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Meter Technician, Valve Technician, Measurement Technician, Instrument and Electrical Technician (I and E Technician) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-9012.

Control and Valve Installers and Repairers in other statesKentuckyGeorgiaCaliforniaTennesseeWisconsinIowaIllinoisMichigan

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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