Maintenance Technician Careers | Maintenance Jobs | Building Maintenance
Maintenance Jobs - What is the Job of a Maintenance Worker? What does a Maintenance Technician Career Involve?
Most maintenance jobs have a number of responsibilities, but maintenance technicians will usually specialize in one area of work such as electrical or carpentry. General maintenance worker jobs will involve working as a general handyman in order to fix and paid roofs, repair windows, install doors, perform drywall repairs, and other simple maintenance tasks.
Craft workers will also repair machines and work on basic plumbing, electrical, and heating problems. Standard responsibilities of maintenance mechanics can include fixing electrical switches, unclogging drains, and replacing vent systems.
Maintenance workers may also work for a corporation in order to monitor specific equipment or computer controlled systems, and program specific devices such as light sensors.
Repair workers will frequently fix problems with the equipment using blueprints, parts, and repair manuals. The tools of the maintenance worker trade can include screwdrivers, drills, hammers, and saws, in addition to electric testing devices.
Maintenance jobs may also involve fixing or monitoring machinery, checking the levels of necessary fluids, replacing oil and add filters, inspecting motors, and performing other general maintenance functions. Most maintenance employees working for a small shop will work alone and be responsible for making all repairs on the job.
Working Conditions for Maintenance Jobs - How is the Working Environment for a Maintenance Worker?
Maintenance jobs will usually involve a 40 hour workweek in fairly comfortable conditions. Maintenance workers may have to work outside or inside depending on their particular position, and they must be able to work alone with limited supervision.
Workplace hazards for a general maintenance worker include minor cuts, electrical shock, bruises, and burns.
Maintenance Training - How to Become a Maintenance Worker - How to Receive Maintenance Training
General repair jobs and maintenance jobs involve training in the workplace, under a more skilled maintenance worker. Maintenance training will start out with simple tasks such as carrying equipment and replacing light bulbs, eventually progressing to more challenging projects such as building partitions or fixing machinery.
It will usually take a few months of maintenance training in order to become competent as a maintenance worker, and computer skills may be needed in order to operate a central computing system that is on site.
Most maintenance workers should be high school graduates, although no formal training is required, but a few tasks may require maintenance certification.
Maintenance Job Requirements - How to Obtain Maintenance Certification
Maintenance licensing will vary depending on the state, and it is usually required for those maintenance workers specializing in electrical and plumbing. Mechanical skill and basic mathematics are helpful in order to become successful as a maintenance technician. Most maintenance repair workers have limited opportunities for advancement, unless they are working for a large repair organization.
Some maintenance technicians will decide to gain additional training and will become an electrician or a plumber.
Maintenance Mechanic Employment - What are the Future Employment Prospects for Maintenance Jobs?
Over the next decade, maintenance jobs and general repair work employment should grow by about 10%, with most growth coming from new building such as schools, retail stores, and hospitals which require constant maintenance and repair.
Job prospects for maintenance mechanics should be good due to fewer people entering the field, as well as a large number of maintenance techs expected to retire over the next 10 years.
Maintenance Salary Pay Scale - How Much Do Maintenance Workers Earn?
In 2006, maintenance jobs and repair workers earned $15.34 an hour on median, with those maintenance technicians in local government having the highest rate of pay at $15.85 an hour. A small percentage of repair workers are members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, in addition to being members of the United Auto Workers.