Occupations · Construction and Extraction
Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers
Assemble, install, repair, or maintain electric or hydraulic freight or passenger elevators, escalators, or dumbwaiters.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 47-4021.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 90% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $127,040 | 3,250 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $136,920 | 1,400 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $105,460 | 860 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $137,040 | 770 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $141,380 | 720 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $119,200 | 630 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $119,300 | 550 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $104,470 | 430 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $114,870 | 400 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $164,020 | 390 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $124,740 | 350 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $105,130 | 290 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
- Assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters.
- Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
- Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.
- Assemble elevator cars, installing each car's platform, walls, and doors.
- Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment.
- Bolt or weld steel rails to the walls of shafts to guide elevators, working from scaffolding or platforms.
- Adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings.
- Read and interpret blueprints to determine the layout of system components, frameworks, and foundations, and to select installation equipment.
- Connect car frames to counterweights, using steel cables.
- Maintain log books that detail all repairs and checks performed.
- Connect electrical wiring to control panels and electric motors.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2023-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2023-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 1
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| lift engineer | 7412.6 | exact |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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