Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers
Help installation, maintenance, and repair workers in maintenance, parts replacement, and repair of vehicles, industrial machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment. Perform duties such as furnishing tools, materials, and supplies to other workers; cleaning work area, machines, and tools; and holding materials or tools for other workers.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Building and Construction
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Engineering and Technology
- Mathematics
- Design
What the work involves
- Tend and observe equipment and machinery to verify efficient and safe operation.
- Examine and test machinery, equipment, components, and parts for defects to ensure proper functioning.
- Adjust, connect, or disconnect wiring, piping, tubing, and other parts, using hand or power tools.
- Install or replace machinery, equipment, and new or replacement parts and instruments, using hand or power tools.
- Clean or lubricate vehicles, machinery, equipment, instruments, tools, work areas, and other objects, using hand tools, power tools, and cleaning equipment.
- Apply protective materials to equipment, components, and parts to prevent defects and corrosion.
- Transfer tools, parts, equipment, and supplies to and from work stations and other areas.
- Disassemble broken or defective equipment to facilitate repair and reassemble equipment when repairs are complete.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (31.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (34.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (50.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers 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 | Low | Lower on contact with others than 76% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Lower on dealing with the public than 51% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 58% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 73% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 80% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 69% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 60% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 76% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: 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: 9.93%
- Contact with others about half the time: 10.45%
- Contact with others most of the time: 49.91%
- Constant contact with others: 29.71%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 2.88%
- Fairly important: 35.29%
- Important: 7.64%
- Very important: 29.3%
- Extremely important: 24.9%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 4.8%
- Important: 9.28%
- Very important: 50.4%
- Extremely important: 35.52%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0.14%
- Very little freedom: 10.17%
- Limited freedom: 20.8%
- Some freedom: 42.79%
- A lot of freedom: 26.1%
n = 31, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 17.96%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.16%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 21.08%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 29.91%
- Every day: 26.89%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 12.21%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 45.71%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.05%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.08%
- Every day: 1.95%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 4.63%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 39.2%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 48.26%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 6.65%
- Every day: 1.26%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 11.69%
- Fairly serious: 15.6%
- Serious: 8.82%
- Very serious: 25.21%
- Extremely serious: 38.68%
n = 32, Incumbent 08/2020
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
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O*NET-SOC 49-9098.00 · SOC 49-9098 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8