Career Explorer Installation and repair
Human edge, growing
Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers
Help installation, maintenance, and repair workers in maintenance, parts replacement, and repair of vehicles, industrial machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment. Perform duties such as furnishing tools, materials, and supplies to other workers; cleaning work area, machines, and tools; and holding materials or tools for other workers.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 99% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +5.3% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity and ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $39,630
- Job growth to 2035
- +5.3%
- Openings a year
- 13,600
- People doing it (2025)
- 97,100
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools
- Test performance of equipment or systems
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assemble equipment or components
- Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment
- Maintain tools or equipment
What the work looks like
- Install or replace machinery, equipment, and new or replacement parts and instruments, using hand or power tools.
- Examine and test machinery, equipment, components, and parts for defects to ensure proper functioning.
- Tend and observe equipment and machinery to verify efficient and safe operation.
- Adjust, connect, or disconnect wiring, piping, tubing, and other parts, using hand or power tools.
- Assemble and maintain physical structures, using hand or power tools.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Also known as: Maintenance Aide, Maintenance Helper, Mechanic Helper, Technician's Helper, HVAC Helper (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Helper), HVAC Installation Helper (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Installation Helper), Mechanic Repair Helper, Mechanic's Assistant.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.