Maintenance Workers, Machinery

Moderate Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers
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Why it fits

Fits experienced workers using repair planning, safety checks, work orders, parts, troubleshooting, and crew coordination.

Electricians
27% automation risk | Low Risk
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Why it fits

Fits workers with electrical maintenance exposure using circuits, meters, wiring, controls, safety procedures, and licensing work.

Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
27% automation risk | Low Risk
Higher growth More jobs
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Why it fits

Applies mechanical systems, preventive maintenance, electrical controls, gauges, safety, and field troubleshooting with HVAC training.

Millwrights
29% automation risk | Low Risk
Higher growth
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Why it fits

Applies industrial equipment teardown, installation, alignment, rigging awareness, mechanical repair, and maintenance planning.

Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
38% automation risk | Low Risk
Higher growth More jobs
15.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Reuses broad repair habits, inspections, hand and power tools, safety routines, service requests, and troubleshooting.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.0/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

53% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): This occupation may be meaningfully affected by automation. Some parts of the role may be suitable for AI, software, or robotics, while others still rely on human skill, judgement, trust, or real-world context. People in this range may benefit from building skills that complement automation and reduce replacement risk.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Education and training expertise

Quite important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 94 votes

38% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a higher chance of automation: 53% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Maintenance Workers, Machinery will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Maintenance Workers, Machinery was $60,500 ($29 per hour).

The median annual wage for Maintenance Workers, Machinery was 22.2% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Maintenance Workers, Machinery' job openings is expected to decline 2.8% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 56,540 people employed as 'Maintenance Workers, Machinery' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 2 thousand people are employed as 'Maintenance Workers, Machinery'.

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What people are saying (7)

Leave a comment
Nick Holden (Low)
18 Apr 2025 20:14
Machinery currently doesn't have the dexterity to repair a bike let alone a complex machine. It will also only find fault if a input lets the machine know there is a fault. If a roller shaft breaks how will it know it's the shaft. We are probably over hundred years away before we get that advanced.
DLeistner (Low)
14 Jul 2024 03:06
Diagnosis of problems that occur as materials and processes change is unprogrammable. Too many variables as well as every machine needs maintenance, even the machines created to maintain other machines.
Adam (Uncertain)
24 Apr 2022 19:51
Variety of tasks and dexterity are required, as well as problem-solving skills.

Machinery would have to be retooled for robots to complete the task easily.
Sean (No chance)
15 Apr 2022 00:24
I've seen automated scrubbers stall for the littlest reasons. It's not even worth using. The sensors need decades of improvement. When the sensors improve then it will take a bit longer to convince the masses to take another chance on paying good money for another robot for maintenance.
Sneezy (No chance)
23 Jul 2021 10:48
Always need someone to work on robots
POREDDY MANISHANKAR REDDY (Low)
18 Dec 2020 02:14
Not that way might the robots control over this occupation as of they only work with the intelligence and will do only the installation of new parts of damage but won't have capability of alterations of the repairs for present running while the parts are out of stock.
Jay
03 Apr 2019 17:41
The robot that will replace the technician job will need at least some maintenance one day.
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Job description

Lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance.

O*NET-SOC code: 49-9043.00