Heavy Equipment Maintenance

Types of Degrees Heavy Equipment Maintenance Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many heavy/industrial equipment maintenance graduations there were in 2021-2022 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	4,247
Undergraduate Certificate	2,648
Associate Degree	1,541
Bachelor’s Degree	10

What Heavy Equipment Maintenance Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to equipment maintenance and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Equipment Maintenance Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Equipment Maintenance Majors

When studying equipment maintenance, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Abilities for Equipment Maintenance Majors

Equipment Maintenance majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Heavy Equipment Maintenance Major?

People with a equipment maintenance degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Elevator Installers and Repairers	12.2%	$79,780
Industrial Machinery Mechanics	6.7%	$52,340
Maintenance Workers, Machinery	5.6%	$47,060
Millwrights	9.9%	$55,060
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines	8.2%	$51,920
Rail Car Repairers	4.9%	$56,220
Wind Turbine Service Technicians	94.8%	$54,370

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Heavy Equipment Maintenance?

This is one of the most frequently chosen trade school majors. It is the 20th most popular in the country with 1,739 students graduating with an associate’s in equipment maintenance in 2021. This major attracts more men than women. About 93% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of equipment maintenance majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	21
Black or African American	117
Hispanic or Latino	161
White	1,141
International Students	6
Other Races/Ethnicities	95

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Equipment Maintenance. About 0.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• British Virgin Islands
• Botswana
• Mexico
• Canada

How Much Do Heavy Equipment Maintenance Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Equipment Maintenance majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $52,510 to $56,250 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Heavy Equipment Maintenance

Some careers associated with equipment maintenance require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for equipment maintenance careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.7%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	41.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	37.2%
Some College Courses	7.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	1.9%
Master’s Degree	0.6%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.8%

Online Heavy Equipment Maintenance Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	252	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	66	0
Associate’s Degree	210	2
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Heavy Equipment Maintenance Worth It?

The median salary for a equipment maintenance grad is $54,000 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 35% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $282,000 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Heavy Equipment Maintenance

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to equipment maintenance.

Major	Number of Grads
Vehicle Maintenance & Repair	63,451
Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration	21,891
Electronics Maintenance & Repair	8,127
Precision Systems Maintenance	2,185
Mechanic & Repair Tech (Other)	1,184
Mechanics & Repairers	347
Energy Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies.	110

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.