North Dakota·Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations·SOC 49-3042

Best programs to become a mobile heavy equipment mechanic in North Dakota

1 North Dakota school offers programs that train mobile heavy equipment mechanics, graduating 31 people a year. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics in North Dakota earn a median of $76,030 across about 1,720 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

You do not need a college degree to become a mobile heavy equipment mechanic. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in North Dakota is Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.

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

Also calledMechanicEquipment MechanicHeavy Equipment MechanicHeavy Equipment TechnicianTrucksmithBrake MechanicCrane MechanicField Mechanic
Graduates / yr
31
in North Dakota
Median pay · North Dakota
$76,030
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,720
people employed
Schools
1
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
55%
across those schools
Median net price
—
per year, IPEDS

1 program in North Dakota that leads to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in North Dakota (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 North Dakota page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
131
100.0%
1$54,138$18,912

Top 1 schools in North Dakota

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

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1North Dakota State College of Science
Wahpeton, ND Public · 1 feeder program
31Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician$62,53155%——

All 1 schools in North Dakota

Every school in North Dakota 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 North Dakota that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
North Dakota State College of ScienceWahpetonPublic311

Fields of study in North Dakota that lead to this job

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

What mobile heavy equipment mechanics earn in North Dakota

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

Median annual in North Dakota
$76,030
Mean annual
$75,710
Jobs in state
1,720
What the range looks like
10th pct$52,000Median$76,03090th pct$101,830
Versus the national median
+16.1%

U.S. median $65,510. North Dakota pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
3.54×

Concentrated here: North Dakota employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in North Dakota

Bismarck, ND
$78,740median
230 jobs
Grand Forks, ND-MN
$77,860median
140 jobs
Minot, ND
$75,900median
130 jobs
Fargo, ND-MN
$68,410median
300 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+5.8%
Faster than average
Openings per year
16,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
10,900
188,700 → 199,600
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus long-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 and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics page.

How to become a mobile heavy equipment mechanic

Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in North Dakota

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 2 majors mapped to Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 01.0205Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician
  • 47.0302Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing mobile heavy equipment mechanics programs in North Dakota.

What degree do you need to become a mobile heavy equipment mechanic?+

You do not need a college degree to become a mobile heavy equipment mechanic. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in North Dakota is Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.

Which college majors lead to becoming a mobile heavy equipment mechanic?+

The field of study that leads most directly to this job in North Dakota is Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). In all, 1 feeder program graduates about 31 people a year in North Dakota (IPEDS completions).

How much do mobile heavy equipment mechanics earn in North Dakota?+

The median is $76,030 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 16.1% above the U.S. median of $65,510. 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 mobile heavy equipment mechanics growing?+

BLS projects a +5.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 16,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in North Dakota?+

1 institutions in North Dakota reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program 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 mobile heavy equipment mechanics work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Mechanic, Equipment Mechanic, Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Heavy Equipment Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-3042.

Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics in other statesCaliforniaTennesseeWisconsinGeorgiaNorth CarolinaIllinoisNebraskaOhio

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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