Heavy Equipment Mechanic Overview
Heavy Equipment Mechanic Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a heavy equipment mechanic. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.76 an hour? That's $47,344 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 7,900 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Heavy Equipment Mechanic Do
There are certain skills that many heavy equipment mechanics have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed dexterity, mechanical skills and organizational skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a heavy equipment mechanic, we found that a lot of resumes listed 12.9% of heavy equipment mechanics included electrical systems, while 11.2% of resumes included hand tools, and 9.9% of resumes included cdl. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the heavy equipment mechanic job title. But what industry to start with? Most heavy equipment mechanics actually find jobs in the construction and manufacturing industries.
How To Become a Heavy Equipment Mechanic
If you're interested in becoming a heavy equipment mechanic, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 8.0% of heavy equipment mechanics have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.0% of heavy equipment mechanics have master's degrees. Even though some heavy equipment mechanics have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a heavy equipment mechanic. When we researched the most common majors for a heavy equipment mechanic, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on heavy equipment mechanic resumes include diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a heavy equipment mechanic. In fact, many heavy equipment mechanic jobs require experience in a role such as mechanic. Meanwhile, many heavy equipment mechanics also have previous career experience in roles such as diesel mechanic or vehicle mechanic.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Heavy Equipment Mechanic Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of field service technician you might progress to a role such as team leader eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title maintenance supervisor.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Heavy Equipment Mechanic
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Waste Management Heavy Equipment Mechanic Heavy Equipment Mechanic | Waste Management Waste Management | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $41,74001/28/2021 $41,740 |
Fiore & Sons Inc. Heavy Equipment Mechanic Heavy Equipment Mechanic | Fiore & Sons Inc. Fiore & Sons Inc. | 01/23/2021 01/23/2021 | $44,60001/23/2021 $44,600 |
Trax Internation Heavy Equipment Mechanic (Artillery) I **Internal Applicants Only** Heavy Equipment Mechanic (Artillery) I **Internal Applicants Only** | Trax Internation Trax Internation | 01/22/2021 01/22/2021 | $56,16101/22/2021 $56,161 |
Hawkeye Paving Corporation Mechanic-Diesel/Heavy Highway Equipment Mechanic-Diesel/Heavy Highway Equipment | Hawkeye Paving Corporation Hawkeye Paving Corporation | 01/22/2021 01/22/2021 | $37,56601/22/2021 $37,566 |
Express Employement Professionals Heavy Equipment Diesel Mechanic (Hedm) Heavy Equipment Diesel Mechanic (Hedm) | Express Employement Professionals Express Employement Professionals | 01/21/2021 01/21/2021 | $45,00001/21/2021 $45,000 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Heavy Equipment Mechanic Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Heavy Equipment Mechanic. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Heavy Equipment Mechanic Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Heavy Equipment Mechanic resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Skills For a Heavy Equipment Mechanic
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.9% of heavy equipment mechanics listed electrical systems on their resume, but soft skills such as dexterity and mechanical skills are important as well.
- Electrical Systems, 12.9%
- Hand Tools, 11.2%
- CDL, 9.9%
- Forklifts, 4.9%
- Osha, 4.5%
- Other Skills, 56.6% See All Heavy Equipment Mechanic Skills
Best States For a Heavy Equipment Mechanic
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a heavy equipment mechanic. The best states for people in this position are Washington, Montana, Alaska, and South Dakota. Heavy equipment mechanics make the most in Washington with an average salary of $65,861. Whereas in Montana and Alaska, they would average $64,087 and $64,042, respectively. While heavy equipment mechanics would only make an average of $60,562 in South Dakota, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Montana
$64,087
Avg. Salary
2. North Dakota
$59,392
Avg. Salary
3. Alaska
$64,042
Avg. Salary
How Do Heavy Equipment Mechanic Rate Their Jobs?
Top Heavy Equipment Mechanic Employers
Heavy Equipment Mechanic Videos
