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

Best Control programs in Kentucky, 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.

13 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,156 people a year. The job pays a median of $61,450 in Kentucky across about 450 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledMeter TechnicianValve TechnicianMeasurement TechnicianInstrument and Electrical Technician (I and E Technician)MechanicMetermanSalvagerValve Grinder
Graduates / yr
2,156
in Kentucky
Median pay · Kentucky
$61,450
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
450
people employed
Schools
13
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
48%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job

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

1 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky
2,156
100.0%
13$51,920$9,786

Top 13 schools in Kentucky

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 13 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Lexington, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
474Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$65,74343%
2Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
Bowling Green, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
375Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$61,02658%
3Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Elizabethtown, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
303Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$59,45859%
4Owensboro Community and Technical College
Owensboro, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
228Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$56,30054%
5Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
172Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$59,04735%
6Somerset Community College
Somerset, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
153Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$55,79343%
7Gateway Community and Technical College
Florence, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
123Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$69,37859%
8Big Sandy Community and Technical College
Prestonsburg, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
80Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician38%
9Hopkinsville Community College
Hopkinsville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
60Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician45%
10Maysville Community and Technical College
Maysville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
57Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician$44,19856%
11Henderson Community College
Henderson, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
50Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician35%
12Ashland Community and Technical College
Ashland, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
49Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician51%
13West Kentucky Community and Technical College
Paducah, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
32Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician50%

All 13 schools in Kentucky

Every school in Kentucky 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 Kentucky that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Bluegrass Community and Technical CollegeLexingtonPublic4741
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical CollegeBowling GreenPublic3751
Elizabethtown Community and Technical CollegeElizabethtownPublic3031
Owensboro Community and Technical CollegeOwensboroPublic2281
Jefferson Community and Technical CollegeLouisvillePublic1721
Somerset Community CollegeSomersetPublic1531
Gateway Community and Technical CollegeFlorencePublic1231
Big Sandy Community and Technical CollegePrestonsburgPublic801
Hopkinsville Community CollegeHopkinsvillePublic601
Maysville Community and Technical CollegeMaysvillePublic571
Henderson Community CollegeHendersonPublic501
Ashland Community and Technical CollegeAshlandPublic491
West Kentucky Community and Technical CollegePaducahPublic321

What control and valve installers and repairers earn in Kentucky

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

Median annual in Kentucky
$61,450
Mean annual
$62,680
Jobs in state
450
What the range looks like
10th pct$43,710Median$61,45090th pct$93,040
Versus the national median
-17.3%

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

Job concentration
0.73×

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

Metro areas in Kentucky

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
$73,640median
160 jobs
Elizabethtown, KY
$47,640median
30 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 Kentucky

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 Kentucky.

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 2,156 degrees in Kentucky 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 2,156 people a year in Kentucky.

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

The median is $61,450 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.3% 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 Kentucky?+

13 institutions in Kentucky 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 statesGeorgiaAlabamaCaliforniaTennesseeWisconsinIowaIllinoisMichigan

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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