Best degree programs for Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians, ranked by enrollment
4 college programs and 75 schools train Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $56,550 median wage, 37,870 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
4 college programs at 75 schools train farm equipment mechanics and service technicians, graduating 1,484 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $56,550 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About farm equipment mechanics and service technicians
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul farm machinery and vehicles, such as tractors, harvesters, dairy equipment, and irrigation systems.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
4 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 01.0205 | 866 | 58.4% | 44 | $54,138 | $18,912 |
| 2 | CIP 01.0201 | 467 | 31.5% | 27 | $54,138 | $18,912 |
| 3 | CIP 01.0204 | 124 | 8.4% | 9 | $54,138 | $18,912 |
| 4 | CIP 01.0299 | 27 | 1.8% | 6 | $54,138 | $18,912 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What farm equipment mechanics and service technicians earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $53,790 | 4,730 | 1.07× | 10 | 424 |
| Illinois | $59,430 | 1,770 | 1.19× | 10 | 149 |
| Texaslimited | $57,150 | 2,200 | 0.64× | 2 | 122 |
| Ohiomoderate | $53,400 | 1,300 | 0.96× | 4 | 104 |
| Iowamoderate | $59,860 | 2,210 | 5.83× | 4 | 98 |
| Kansas | $50,290 | 2,130 | 6.09× | 7 | 93 |
| Nebraskalimited | $49,810 | 1,770 | 7.09× | 2 | 81 |
| Missourimoderate | $51,330 | 960 | 1.35× | 4 | 54 |
| North Dakotalimited | $63,030 | 770 | 7.40× | 2 | 46 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $58,870 | 1,560 | 2.18× | 4 | 46 |
| South Dakotalimited | $62,140 | 820 | 7.35× | 2 | 42 |
| Indianalimited | $60,460 | 1,200 | 1.54× | 2 | 33 |
| Washingtonlimited | $61,370 | 1,120 | 1.30× | 1 | 33 |
| Georgialimited | $50,170 | 570 | 0.48× | 2 | 30 |
| North Carolinamoderate | $50,750 | 300 | 0.25× | 3 | 24 |
| Mississippilimited | $49,030 | 520 | 1.82× | 1 | 23 |
| Minnesotamoderate | $58,040 | 1,620 | 2.26× | 3 | 19 |
| New Yorkmoderate | $56,550 | 650 | 0.28× | 3 | 18 |
| Oklahomalimited | $58,860 | 380 | 0.92× | 1 | 12 |
| Idaholimited | $59,600 | 680 | 3.25× | 1 | 8 |
| Arkansaslimited | $49,030 | 790 | 2.50× | 1 | 5 |
| Montanalimited | $61,710 | 400 | 3.18× | 1 | 3 |
| Utahlimited | $56,070 | 190 | 0.46× | 1 | 3 |
| Michiganlimited | $50,870 | 980 | 0.91× | 1 | 2 |
| Oregonlimited | $60,830 | 660 | 1.38× | 2 | 2 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Reassemble machines and equipment following repair, testing operation and making adjustments, as necessary.
- Maintain, repair, and overhaul farm machinery and vehicles, such as tractors, harvesters, and irrigation systems.
- Examine and listen to equipment, read inspection reports, and confer with customers to locate and diagnose malfunctions.
- Record details of repairs made and parts used.
- Dismantle defective machines for repair, using hand tools.
- Clean and lubricate parts.
- Repair or replace defective parts, using hand tools, milling and woodworking machines, lathes, welding equipment, grinders, or saws.
- Test and replace electrical components and wiring, using test meters, soldering equipment, and hand tools.
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Monitoring3.1
- Active Listening3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Active Learning3.0
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Writing2.9
- Learning Strategies2.8
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical4.7
- Customer and Personal Service3.8
- English Language3.7
- Computers and Electronics3.7
- Engineering and Technology3.5
- Physics3.4
Abilities
- Finger Dexterity4.0
- Manual Dexterity4.0
- Control Precision4.0
- Multilimb Coordination4.0
- Near Vision3.9
- Problem Sensitivity3.9
Core activities
- Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment4.6
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.2
- Getting Information4.1
- Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment4.1
- Handling and Moving Objects4.1
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Farm Equipment Mechanic
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Long-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.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0201Agricultural Mechanization, General
- 01.0204Agricultural Power Machinery Operation
- 01.0205Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician
- 01.0207Irrigation Management Technology/Technician(no graduates reported)
- 01.0299Agricultural Mechanization, Other
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Farm Equipment Mechanic?+
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 Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician, which awarded 866 degrees in 2024-25, 58.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Farm Equipment Mechanic?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Agricultural Mechanization. Together they graduate about 1,484 people a year.
How much do farm equipment mechanics and service technicians earn?+
The median is $56,550 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $37,470 at the 10th percentile to $78,740 at the 90th. 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 farm equipment mechanics and service technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +11.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 3,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
75 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 farm equipment mechanics and service technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Mechanic, Tractor Mechanic, Farm Equipment Mechanic, Service Technician (Service Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-3041.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card