Occupations · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul farm machinery and vehicles, such as tractors, harvesters, dairy equipment, and irrigation systems.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 49-3041.00
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $70,320 | 540 |
| Fresno, CA | $46,450 | 500 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $46,800 | 420 |
| Visalia-Porterville, CA | $48,840 | 360 |
| Salinas, CA | $46,760 | 350 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $56,310 | 320 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $47,920 | 290 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $60,870 | 280 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $63,330 | 280 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | $49,450 | 280 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | $60,580 | 260 |
| Modesto, CA | $60,990 | 250 |
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.
- Reassemble machines and equipment following repair, testing operation and making adjustments, as necessary.
- Maintain, repair, and overhaul farm machinery and vehicles, such as tractors, harvesters, and irrigation systems.
- Examine and listen to equipment, read inspection reports, and confer with customers to locate and diagnose malfunctions.
- Record details of repairs made and parts used.
- Dismantle defective machines for repair, using hand tools.
- Clean and lubricate parts.
- Repair or replace defective parts, using hand tools, milling and woodworking machines, lathes, welding equipment, grinders, or saws.
- Test and replace electrical components and wiring, using test meters, soldering equipment, and hand tools.
- Tune or overhaul engines.
- Calculate bills according to record of repairs made, labor time, and parts used.
- Drive trucks to haul tools and equipment for on-site repair of large machinery.
- Fabricate new metal parts, using drill presses, engine lathes, and other machine tools.
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 2025-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2025-08
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 3
No longer listed 2
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 |
|---|---|---|
| agricultural machinery technician | 7233.8.1 | exact |
| land-based machinery technician | 7233.8 | broader |
| irrigation system installer | 7126.5 | broader |
| water-based aquaculture technician | 6221.11 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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