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Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance Major

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Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance

348 Associates's Degrees Annually
#82 in Popularity (Associate's)
$43,730 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate 1,059
Basic Certificate 836
Associate Degree 348

What Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

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  • Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • 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.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician Majors

When studying medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician, 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:

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  • Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
  • Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
  • 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.
  • Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Abilities for Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician Majors

As a medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

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  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

What Can You Do With a Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Automotive Master Mechanics 6.1% $40,710
Automotive Specialty Technicians 6.1% $40,710
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists 9.3% $47,350

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance?

348 Associate's Degrees Annually
7% Percent Women
32% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This major tends to be male dominated. About 93% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 8
Black or African American 21
Hispanic or Latino 72
White 227
International Students 0
Other Races/Ethnicities 20

How Much Do Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Medium/Heavy Vehicle and Truck Technology/Technician majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $43,730 to $49,150 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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.

Median Salary for a Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance Major  ( 43730 to 49150 )
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Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma 16.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 36.7%
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) 38.5%
Some College Courses 4.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 4.7%

Online Heavy Vehicle & Truck Maintenance Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 95 schools offered some type of medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician program. 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) 58 1
Certificate (2-4 Years) 9 0
Associate’s Degree 32 1
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 Vehicle & Truck Maintenance Worth It?

The median salary for a medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician grad is $43,730 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 10% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $76,600 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to medium/heavy vehicle and truck technology/technician.

Major Number of Grads
Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician 28,872
Diesel Mechanics Technology/Technician 8,471
Airframe Mechanics & Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician 6,148
Autobody/Collision & Repair Technology/Technician 4,487
Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician 2,392
Motorcycle Maintenance & Repair Technology/Technician 1,073
Avionics Maintenance Technology/Technician 804
Marine Maintenance/Fitter & Ship Repair Technology/Technician 655
General Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Technologies 430
High Performance & Custom Engine Technician/Mechanic 382
Small Engine Mechanics & Repair Technology/Technician 218
Engine Machinist 133
Alternative Fuel Vehicle Technology/Technician 112
Other Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Technologies 94

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.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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