Best programs to become a maintenance and repair worker
You do not need a college degree to become a maintenance and repair worker. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Building/Property Maintenance (IPEDS completions).
1 college program at 97 schools trains maintenance and repair workers, graduating 2,461 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $49,590 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About 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.
Best programs to study to become a maintenance and repair worker
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 46.0401 | 2,461 | 100.0% | 97 | $31,641 | $9,500 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
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.
What maintenance and repair workers, general 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | $47,910 | 43,440 | 0.89× | 12 | 673 |
| Illinois | $56,720 | 66,600 | 1.11× | 9 | 249 |
| Virginialimited | $49,470 | 34,540 | 0.85× | 1 | 210 |
| Texas | $46,670 | 140,580 | 1.02× | 6 | 138 |
| Louisiana | $43,960 | 21,490 | 1.13× | 5 | 127 |
| Kansaslimited | $47,210 | 12,730 | 0.90× | 2 | 85 |
| New Jerseylimited | $54,810 | 37,350 | 0.89× | 2 | 71 |
| Oklahoma | $42,750 | 18,670 | 1.11× | 9 | 70 |
| Tennessee | $47,240 | 35,790 | 1.11× | 5 | 69 |
| Ohiomoderate | $53,420 | 64,770 | 1.19× | 4 | 68 |
| Pennsylvaniamoderate | $49,290 | 55,590 | 0.93× | 4 | 53 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $55,810 | 30,880 | 1.07× | 4 | 47 |
| Michiganmoderate | $47,580 | 39,490 | 0.91× | 4 | 42 |
| Minnesotamoderate | $59,200 | 29,660 | 1.02× | 3 | 40 |
| Massachusettslimited | $58,320 | 29,830 | 0.83× | 1 | 38 |
| Kentuckylimited | $46,810 | 22,190 | 1.13× | 2 | 36 |
| Coloradolimited | $51,280 | 22,960 | 0.81× | 1 | 31 |
| Arizonalimited | $47,620 | 39,000 | 1.22× | 2 | 30 |
| Washingtonlimited | $59,160 | 32,450 | 0.93× | 2 | 30 |
| Missourimoderate | $48,370 | 31,180 | 1.08× | 3 | 27 |
| Mississippimoderate | $44,350 | 14,550 | 1.27× | 3 | 27 |
| New Yorklimited | $57,790 | 119,650 | 1.26× | 2 | 19 |
| New Mexicolimited | $45,760 | 9,320 | 1.09× | 1 | 17 |
| Floridalimited | $46,060 | 111,530 | 1.14× | 2 | 11 |
| Delawarelimited | $50,150 | 3,310 | 0.69× | 1 | 9 |
| Georgialimited | $47,680 | 48,430 | 1.01× | 1 | 9 |
| Arkansaslimited | $43,400 | 12,410 | 0.97× | 2 | 8 |
| Nebraskalimited | $50,700 | 9,850 | 0.98× | 1 | 4 |
| Californialimited | $57,000 | 143,060 | 0.80× | 1 | 1 |
| Nevadalimited | $52,360 | 16,520 | 1.08× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and knowledge
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
- Perform routine maintenance, such as inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters, or doing other preventive maintenance actions.
- Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.
- Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.
- Repair machines, equipment, or structures, using tools such as hammers, hoists, saws, drills, wrenches, or equipment such as precision measuring instruments or electrical or electronic testing devices.
- Order parts, supplies, or equipment from catalogs or suppliers.
- Diagnose mechanical problems and determine how to correct them, checking blueprints, repair manuals, or parts catalogs, as necessary.
- Design new equipment to aid in the repair or maintenance of machines, mechanical equipment, or building structures.
- Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Active Learning3.1
- Monitoring3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Writing2.9
- Mathematics2.4
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical4.0
- English Language3.7
- Building and Construction3.7
- Mathematics3.4
- Production and Processing3.1
- Customer and Personal Service2.9
Abilities
- Information Ordering3.9
- Near Vision3.9
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.9
- Manual Dexterity3.9
- Problem Sensitivity3.8
- Control Precision3.4
Core activities
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.5
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.5
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment4.3
- Getting Information4.3
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.2
How to get in
How to become a maintenance and repair worker
- 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.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Maintenance and Repair Workers, General1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 46.0401Building/Property Maintenance
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 maintenance and repair worker?+
You do not need a college degree to become a maintenance and repair worker. BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Building/Property Maintenance (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a maintenance and repair worker?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Building/Property Maintenance (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 program to this job, which graduates about 2,461 people a year.
How much do maintenance and repair workers, general earn?+
The median is $49,590 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $35,350 at the 10th percentile to $77,180 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 maintenance and repair workers, general growing?+
BLS projects a +3.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 159,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
97 institutions 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 maintenance and repair workers, general work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Maintenance Engineer, Maintenance Mechanic, Facilities Technician, Maintenance Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-9071.
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
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