Heavy Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Service Technicians: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more
- Education Required
- Most heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians have a high school diploma or equivalent. High school courses in automotive repair, electronics, physics, and welding provide a strong foundation for a service technicians career. However, high school graduates often need further training to become fully qualified.
- Training Required
- Entry-level workers with no formal background in heavy vehicle repair often receive a few months of on-the-job training before they begin performing routine service tasks and making minor repairs. Trainees advance to more complex work as they show competence, and they usually become fully qualified after 3 to 4 years of work.
- Job Outlook
-
The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: 8% (As fast as average)
(The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent.) - Licenses/Certifications
- Some manufacturers offer certification in specific repair methods or equipment. Although not required, certification can demonstrate a service technicians competence and usually commands higher pay.
- Median pay: How much do Heavy Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Service Technicians make?
- $47,690 Annual Salary
- $22.93 per hour
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians, also called mechanics, inspect, maintain, and repair vehicles and machinery used in construction, farming, rail transportation, and other industries.
What do Heavy Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Service Technicians do?
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians typically do the following:
- Consult equipment operating manuals, blueprints, and drawings
- Perform scheduled maintenance, such as cleaning and lubricating parts
- Diagnose and identify malfunctions, using computerized tools and equipment
- Inspect, repair, and replace defective or worn parts, such as bearings, pistons, and gears
- Overhaul and test major components, such as engines, hydraulic systems, and electrical systems
- Disassemble and reassemble heavy equipment and components
- Travel to worksites to repair large equipment, such as cranes
- Maintain logs of equipment condition and work performed
Heavy vehicles and mobile equipment are critical to many industrial activities, including construction and railroad transportation. Various types of equipment, such as tractors, cranes, and bulldozers, are used to haul materials, till land, lift beams, and dig earth to pave the way for development and construction.
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians repair and maintain engines, hydraulic systems, transmissions, and electrical systems of agricultural, industrial, construction, and rail equipment. They ensure the performance and safety of fuel lines, brakes, and other systems.
These service technicians use diagnostic computers and equipment to identify problems and make adjustments or repairs. For example, they may use an oscilloscope to observe the signals produced by electronic components. Service technicians also use many different power and machine tools, including pneumatic wrenches, lathes, and welding equipment. A pneumatic tool, such as an impact wrench, is a tool powered by compressed air.
Service technicians also use many different hand tools, such as screwdrivers, pliers, and wrenches, to work on small parts and in hard-to-reach areas. They generally purchase these tools over the course of their careers, often investing thousands of dollars in their inventory.
After identifying malfunctioning equipment, service technicians repair, replace, and recalibrate components such as hydraulic pumps and spark plugs. Doing this may involve disassembling and reassembling major equipment or making adjustments through an onboard computer program.
The following are examples of types of heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians:
Careers for Heavy Vehicle and Mobile Equipment Service Technicians
- Agricultural equipment mechanics
- Bulldozer mechanics
- Combine mechanics
- Construction equipment mechanics
- Construction equipment technicians
- Dairy equipment mechanics
- Dairy equipment repairers
- Dragline mechanics
- Farm equipment mechanics
- Farm equipment mechanics and service technicians
- Forklift mechanics
- Forklift technicians
- Freight car repairers
- Harvester mechanics
- Irrigation equipment mechanics
- Mechanics and repairers
- Milking machine mechanics
- Mine car mechanics
- Mobile heavy equipment mechanics
- Mobile heavy equipment mechanics and service technicians
- Rail car maintenance mechanics
- Rail car mechanics
- Rail car repairers
- Service technicians, mobile heavy equipment
- Streetcar repairers
- Subway car repairers
- Tank car reconditioners
- Technicians and technologists
- Tractor mechanics
- Trolley car mechanics
- Trolley car overhaulers