Machine Repair/Maintenance Technician Career Guide: 2024

Vocational trends are shifting as more young adults—particularly from GenZ—recognize the value of working in the trades. The statistics don’t lie. During the 2022-2023 school year, vocational-focused community colleges saw enrollment rise by 16%.

This trend has many sources: high college costs, guaranteed work, and a cultural perspective shift that recognizes blue-collar work’s value and stability.

Maybe that reasoning sounds familiar, and you’re also considering working in the trades! If so, you have a good reason. Job demand is booming; the money is good, and the work is fulfilling.

Plus, the work is diverse! After all, the trades encompass countless job types. One such role is machine repair technician. If you enjoy working with your hands, seeing how things work, and problem-solving, this position could be meant for you! 

What is a Machine Repair Technician?

A job as a machine repair technician is precisely what it sounds like. These laborers repair, install, adjust, and maintain machinery within various industries. Their workload may include cleaning, lubricating, maintaining, and repairing machines, as well as advising on proper equipment use. This role sometimes overlaps with that of a millwright. However, while the jobs are similar, millwrights specialize in moving and installing machinery, while repair technicians focus on ongoing repair and maintenance. Repair technicians (quite literally) keep things rolling.

Choose a career as a machine repair and maintenance technician to play a pivotal role in industrial production and workflow!

What Industries Hire Machine Repair Technicians?

Many industries require repair technicians, although most fall within the industrial production category. The popularity of this role makes it an exciting career path! However, the common denominator across these industries is working hands-on with machinery. In any of the listed industries, you won’t be responsible for production but rather for maintaining and repairing the associated machines. Here’s a closer look at some industries you could choose:

1. Manufacturing:  Manufacturing has a considerable need for technicians to maintain and repair conveyor belts, robotic arms, CNC machines, pick-and-place machines, palletizers, and hydraulic presses—to name a few. 
2. Automotive: Repair technicians underpin every aspect of the automotive industry—from manufacturing to dealerships to repair shops—since these locations use machinery. In automotive manufacturing, you may work on stamping presses, electrostatic paint systems, engine dyno stands, and other assembly line components.
3. Food and Beverage: In this industry, you may process mixers, blenders, grinders, mincers, homogenizers, blast freezers, steam kettles, and ovens. You may also repair packaging machinery for filling, capping, and sealing, as well as metal detectors and X-ray inspection systems. Everything with moving parts will need maintenance and repair!
4. Aerospace: Manufacturers and maintenance facilities in aerospace use highly specialized equipment and machinery to build and test aircraft. Hydro-forming presses, sheet metal fabrication equipment, and ultrasonic testing machines all require the close attention of a skilled maintenance technician. 
5. Pharmaceuticals: Highly specialized and accuracy sensitive, the pharmaceutical sector employs maintenance and repair technicians to keep granulation equipment, tablet presses, capsule filling, and capsule coating machines in peak condition.

Other relevant industries (at a glance) include:

• Textiles
• HVAC
• Energy
• Mining
• Construction
• Logistics and Warehousing
• Utilities and Public Works
• Healthcare Equipment Manufacturing

In short, any industry utilizing machinery needs repair technicians to keep equipment operational, safe, and efficient. Faulty equipment can cost a company billions of dollars in downtime, damaged goods, or workplace injuries caused by damaged, dull, or inadequate equipment. In most situations, manufacturing plants hire full-time technicians to keep production rolling around the clock. You may be in a large manufacturing or production plant, sorting facility, packaging warehouse, or the private sector (HVAC). The opportunities are endless!

What Skills and Qualifications Do You Need?

While being a repair and maintenance technician is undoubtedly a hands-on job, you’ll need both technical skills and soft skills—as well as some innate talent. Here’s a more detailed summary of the skills you’ll require:

1.) Technical Skills

• Mechanical Aptitude — This quality is the uncanny ability to look at machinery and quickly understand “how things work.” While some mechanical aptitude is learnable, some of it just comes naturally!
• Concrete Understanding of Machinery — More than a general aptitude, you must have hands-on, practical knowledge and experience with hydraulics, pneumatics, programmable logic controllers, and other machine systems. (This is physical science!)
• Manual Dexterity — You must be able to manipulate small items with your fingers, move quickly while changing controls, and work with your hands while kneeling, sitting, or even lying down.
• Electrical Knowledge — Most machinery incorporates components of electricity. You’ll need an understanding of electrical systems and circuitry.
• Blueprint and Schematic Reading —Knowing how to read and understand technical drawings is a skill you’ll use often.
• Computer and Digital Technological Literacy — Machinery heavily incorporates computers and technology in every sector. And now, AI and other advanced technologies will increasingly infiltrate every industry, making technological literacy increasingly vital.
• Welding and Fabrication — Depending on the industry, welding, and fabrication may also be necessary repair and maintenance skills.
• Physical Strength — The job is often physically demanding. Machinery can be heavy, and the job requires long hours standing or kneeling.

Remember, some technical skills come with experience and time on the job. (For example, an experienced technician will diagnose from the sounds a machine makes.) It’s also helpful to have an aptitude in algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

2.) Soft Skills

• Troubleshooting — You’ll spend much of your time diagnosing problems since it’s crucial to identify and fix problems before they occur.
• Analytics — Logic, process, and order are all components of machinery. You must quickly analyze and organize problems into solutions.
• Attention to Detail — When it comes to industrial machinery, the smallest thing out of place can make a big difference. Being thorough and detail-orientated is crucial!
• Communication — Technicians must often leave a report on what the problem was, how they fixed it, and how to prevent it from occurring again.
• Keen Safety Awareness — Working with machinery requires a strong sense of safety and caution, as well as subordinance to safety procedures and PPE. 

Additional soft skills include:

• Dependability
• Innovativeness
• Adaptability
• Initiative
• Cooperation
• Time management

In some situations, repair technicians work directly with customers, so good customer service skills are also necessary.

3.) Education

Generally, most employers are willing to hire entry-level technicians (with only a high school diploma or GED) for basic machine repair. If you are a high school student considering a vocation as a machine and repair technician, consider these courses:

• Mechanical Drawing.
• Mathematics.
• Shop classes.
• Physics.

However, you’ll require continuing education to work on more complex machinery. Employers may offer on-the-job training, providing an apprenticeship under an experienced technician to help you earn certification while working. As industries evolve, you should expect to adapt and continue your learning as you grow in your career.

Other employers may require you to hold vocational or technical school certification in one of the following fields:

• Industrial maintenance.
• Mechatronics.
• Mechanical engineering technology. 



Finally, employers look for associate’s degrees—especially when the industry involves hydraulics and electrical systems.

A simple way to get a leg up is to attend a vocational school and earn a certification in maintenance technology.

Job Outlook for Maintenance/Repair Technicians?

The job outlook for machine maintenance and repair technicians is bright! Currently, the median salary in the United States is $61,170. According to the BLS, the projected demand for machine technicians is over 13% through 2032. Virtually every industrial business depends on repair technicians—especially as machinery becomes more complex and advanced. Specialized, dependable talent will continue to be in hot demand!

Are you interested in becoming a machine maintenance and repair technician? Do you want to learn more? Partnering with a staffing agency that specializes in placing the right people in the right jobs and has a niche in light industrial might be your next best step! For over 50 years, Career Concepts has matched the best people with the best employers. We take you and your career seriously and can help you find your business needs. Contact us today, and let’s get started!