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Heavy Equipment Maintenance

Types of Degrees Heavy Equipment Maintenance Majors Are Earning

Those studying Heavy Equipment Maintenance may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	2,565
Associate’s Degree	1,521
Bachelor’s Degree	9
Master’s Degree	4,688

What Heavy Equipment Maintenance Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Heavy Equipment Maintenance emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Heavy Equipment Maintenance graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Heavy Equipment Maintenance emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Mechanical — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Public Safety and Security — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Engineering and Technology — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.0 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Heavy Equipment Maintenance program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Repairing — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Troubleshooting — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Equipment Maintenance — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Operations Monitoring — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Heavy Equipment Maintenance careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Arm-Hand Steadiness — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Manual Dexterity — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Heavy Equipment Maintenance graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials	4.2 / 7
Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment	4.2 / 7
Getting Information	4.1 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Handling and Moving Objects	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7
Performing General Physical Activities	3.9 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.8 / 7
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment	3.8 / 7
Controlling Machines and Processes	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Heavy Equipment Maintenance professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Programmable logic controller PLC software	Industrial control software	—
Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software	Industrial control software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Structured query language SQL	Data base user interface and query software	—
IBM Maximo Asset Management	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Heavy Equipment Maintenance graduates include:

• Service Technician
• Salvager
• Air Valve Repairer
• Air Valve Mechanic
• Valve Mechanic
• Mechanic
• Pneumatic Tube Repairer
• Spray Gun Repairer
• Pneumatic Tool Repairer
• Maintenance Technician
• Regulator Mechanic
• Lubrication Equipment Servicer
• Gas Pit Worker
• Plant Controls Specialist
• Maintenance Controls Tech (Maintenance Controls Technician)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Heavy Equipment Maintenance graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	49.1%
Postsecondary certificate	39.1%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	5.5%
Some college courses	5.2%
Bachelor’s degree	0.5%
Less than a high school diploma	0.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Heavy Equipment Maintenance?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 93% of Heavy Equipment Maintenance degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	622	7.0%
Men	8,303	93.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Heavy Equipment Maintenance graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5,749	64.4%
Asian	153	1.7%
Hispanic or Latino	1,524	17.1%
Black or African American	883	9.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native	74	0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	12	0.1%
Two or More Races	261	2.9%
Race Unknown	231	2.6%
International Students	38	0.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Heavy Equipment Maintenance Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Heavy Equipment Maintenance graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$49,887
4 years	$52,783
5 years	$60,412

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $60,412 — roughly 21% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Heavy Equipment Maintenance Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for Heavy Equipment Maintenance. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	7

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Heavy Equipment Maintenance Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Heavy Equipment Maintenance graduates earn a median of $52,783 four years after completion — roughly 39% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Mechanical Repair Technologies	121,176
Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technology/Technician, General	74,567
Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR)	23,253
Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians	9,559
Precision Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians	2,926
Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians, Other	1,335
Mechanics and Repairers, General	433
Energy Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians	178

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.