Industrial Machinery Mechanics
Repair, install, adjust, or maintain industrial production and processing machinery or refinery and pipeline distribution systems. May also install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to plans.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Quality Control Analysis
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Production and Processing
- Engineering and Technology
- Design
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Disassemble machinery or equipment to remove parts and make repairs.
- Repair or replace broken or malfunctioning components of machinery or equipment.
- Repair or maintain the operating condition of industrial production or processing machinery or equipment.
- Examine parts for defects, such as breakage or excessive wear.
- Reassemble equipment after completion of inspections, testing, or repairs.
- Observe and test the operation of machinery or equipment to diagnose malfunctions, using voltmeters or other testing devices.
- Operate newly repaired machinery or equipment to verify the adequacy of repairs.
- Clean, lubricate, or adjust parts, equipment, or machinery.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate (47.2% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (32.2%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (29.1%)
- 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 Industrial Machinery Mechanics 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 63% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 96% of occupations compared | 60% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 57% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 71% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 64% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 70% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 55% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 76% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: low
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: 9.81%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 48.82%
- Constant contact with others: 41.37%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 59.77%
- Fairly important: 20.41%
- Important: 6.52%
- Very important: 12.57%
- Extremely important: 0.74%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0.94%
- Important: 16.25%
- Very important: 28.67%
- Extremely important: 54.14%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 11.44%
- Limited freedom: 13.81%
- Some freedom: 47.62%
- A lot of freedom: 27.13%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 6.65%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.9%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 9.74%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 49.4%
- Every day: 22.3%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 26.39%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 32.93%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 15.5%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.55%
- Every day: 13.64%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 26.64%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 19.76%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 17.88%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 29.94%
- Every day: 5.78%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 37.4%
- Fairly serious: 15.71%
- Serious: 29.1%
- Very serious: 2.96%
- Extremely serious: 14.83%
n = 25, Incumbent 08/2021
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O*NET-SOC 49-9041.00 · SOC 49-9041 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8