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Industrial Machinery Mechanics vs Maintenance Workers, Machinery

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Industrial Machinery Mechanics and Maintenance Workers, Machinery on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Industrial Machinery Mechanics Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$63,760
$60,500
Employment · BLS OEWS
421,940
56,540
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
31st pct
30th pct

At a glance

Dimension Industrial Machinery Mechanics Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Median pay $63,760 $60,500
Employment 421,940 56,540
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Growing fast (+16.1%) Declining (-2.8%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 45,700 4,800
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 31st pct Low · 30th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 24th pct · 17% of tasks 24th pct · 17% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Automation-leaning (73.7%) —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Mechanical, Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, Repairing, Problem Sensitivity, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity, Control Precision, Near Vision, Quality Control Analysis, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Critical Thinking, Multilimb Coordination, English Language, Information Ordering, Production and Processing, Engineering and Technology, Design, Visualization, Selective Attention, Active Listening, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Deductive Reasoning, Static Strength, Trunk Strength, Extent Flexibility, Speaking, Coordination, Time Management.

Specific to Industrial Machinery Mechanics

  • Reaction Time
  • Hearing Sensitivity
  • Active Learning
  • Monitoring
  • Equipment Selection
  • Written Comprehension
  • Auditory Attention
  • Mathematics

Specific to Maintenance Workers, Machinery

  • Administration and Management
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Oral Expression
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Visual Color Discrimination
  • Education and Training

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Enterprise resource planning ERP software , Facilities management software , Data base user interface and query software , Internet browser software .

Specific to Industrial Machinery Mechanics

Specific to Maintenance Workers, Machinery

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Industrial Machinery Mechanics or Maintenance Workers, Machinery — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Industrial Machinery Mechanics vs Maintenance Workers, Machinery." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/industrial-machinery-mechanics-vs-maintenance-workers-machinery

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Industrial Machinery Mechanics vs Maintenance Workers, Machinery. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/industrial-machinery-mechanics-vs-maintenance-workers-machinery

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-industrial-machinery-mechanics-vs-maintenance-workers-machinery,
  title  = {Industrial Machinery Mechanics vs Maintenance Workers, Machinery},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/industrial-machinery-mechanics-vs-maintenance-workers-machinery}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.