Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
Install, repair, and maintain mechanical regulating and controlling devices, such as electric meters, gas regulators, thermostats, safety and flow valves, and other mechanical governors.
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking
- Repairing
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Engineering and Technology
- Public Safety and Security
- Customer and Personal Service
- Computers and Electronics
- Mathematics
- Design
- Production and Processing
What the work involves
- Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches.
- Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made.
- Lubricate wearing surfaces of mechanical parts, using oils or other lubricants.
- Turn meters on or off to establish or close service.
- Turn valves to allow measured amounts of air or gas to pass through meters at specified flow rates.
- Report hazardous field situations and damaged or missing meters.
- Record meter readings and installation data on meter cards, work orders, or field service orders, or enter data into hand-held computers.
- Connect regulators to test stands, and turn screw adjustments until gauges indicate that inlet and outlet pressures meet specifications.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (47% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (27.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (32.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 60% of occupations compared | 74% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 61% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 61% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 53% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 64% of occupations compared | 45% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 50% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 75% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 83% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 10.48%
- Contact with others about half the time: 2.04%
- Contact with others most of the time: 13.91%
- Constant contact with others: 73.57%
n = 33, Incumbent 07/2017
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 18.58%
- Fairly important: 9.54%
- Important: 7.09%
- Very important: 12.47%
- Extremely important: 52.32%
n = 33, Incumbent 07/2017
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 7.01%
- Important: 3.15%
- Very important: 32.24%
- Extremely important: 57.6%
n = 33, Incumbent 07/2017
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 1.67%
- Very little freedom: 10.5%
- Limited freedom: 4.11%
- Some freedom: 43.9%
- A lot of freedom: 39.83%
n = 33, Incumbent 07/2017
Time pressure
- Never: 10.42%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.85%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.47%
- Every day: 45.27%
n = 33, Incumbent 07/2017
Conflict situations
- Never: 6.06%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 34.42%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 37.25%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.94%
- Every day: 7.33%
n = 33, Incumbent 07/2017
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 10.33%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 16.35%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 31.49%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 15.24%
- Every day: 26.58%
n = 33, Incumbent 07/2017
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 9.85%
- Fairly serious: 17.05%
- Serious: 7.92%
- Very serious: 12.44%
- Extremely serious: 52.74%
n = 33, Incumbent 07/2017
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O*NET-SOC 49-9012.00 · SOC 49-9012 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8