Tennessee·Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations·SOC 49-3042

Best Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic programs in Tennessee, ranked by enrollment

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

3 schools in Tennessee run programs that feed this job, graduating 158 people a year. The job pays a median of $61,880 in Tennessee across about 2,600 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledMechanicEquipment MechanicHeavy Equipment MechanicHeavy Equipment TechnicianTrucksmithBrake MechanicCrane MechanicField Mechanic
Graduates / yr
158
in Tennessee
Median pay · Tennessee
$61,880
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,600
people employed
Schools
3
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
62%
across those schools
Median net price
$28,799
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Tennessee that lead to this job

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

1 programs in Tennessee that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Tennessee (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 Tennessee page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 47.0302In Tennessee
158
100.0%
3$51,920$9,786

Top 3 schools in Tennessee

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 3 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Nashville Auto - Diesel College
Nashville, TN Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
144Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician$42,21368%$28,799
2Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Memphis
Memphis, TN Public · 1 feeder programs
9Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician55%
3Tennessee College of Applied Technology Crump
Crump, TN Public · 1 feeder programs
5Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician63%

All 3 schools in Tennessee

Every school in Tennessee 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 Tennessee that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Nashville Auto - Diesel CollegeNashvillePrivate for-profit1441
Tennessee College of Applied Technology - MemphisMemphisPublic91
Tennessee College of Applied Technology CrumpCrumpPublic51

What mobile heavy equipment mechanics earn in Tennessee

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

Median annual in Tennessee
$61,880
Mean annual
$63,020
Jobs in state
2,600
What the range looks like
10th pct$47,100Median$61,88090th pct$80,850
Versus the national median
-5.5%

U.S. median $65,510. Tennessee pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.70×

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

Metro areas in Tennessee

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN
$65,030median
750 jobs
Jackson, TN
$61,830median
50 jobs
Memphis, TN-MS-AR
$62,670median
460 jobs
Chattanooga, TN-GA
$61,680median
220 jobs
Knoxville, TN
$61,500median
340 jobs
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
$61,100median
120 jobs
Morristown, TN
$57,270median
80 jobs
Clarksville, TN-KY
$57,890median
90 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, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics page.

How to become a Mobile Heavy 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.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionWritingActive ListeningMonitoringSpeaking

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Tennessee

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 Tennessee.

What degree do you need to become a Mobile Heavy 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 Heavy Equipment Maintenance Technology/Technician, which awarded 158 degrees in Tennessee in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic?+

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 158 people a year in Tennessee.

How much do mobile heavy equipment mechanics earn in Tennessee?+

The median is $61,880 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.5% below 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 Tennessee?+

3 institutions in Tennessee 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 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 statesCaliforniaWisconsinGeorgiaNorth CarolinaIllinoisNebraskaOhioKansas

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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