How long does it take to become a Maintenance Worker?

It takes 2 years of professional experience to become a maintenance worker. That is the time it takes to learn specific maintenance worker skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.

How To Become A Maintenance Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a maintenance worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A maintenance worker provides the upkeep and maintenance of various facilities and equipment. They perform inspections, repairs, and replacements to ensure proper working order. Maintenance workers appear in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, and education. Their duties may include plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, painting, and HVAC maintenance. They must have a strong attention to detail and the ability to troubleshoot. A maintenance worker keeps buildings, equipment, and facilities safe and comfortable.

ScoreMaintenance WorkerUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,132

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.6

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.17%

Asian 4.51%

Black or African American 10.76%

Hispanic or Latino 19.65%

Unknown 4.24%

White 59.68%

Gender

female 12.03%

male 87.97%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

7.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a maintenance worker?

Pros

Job security and stability
Opportunities for career growth and advancement
Opportunity to work independently or as part of a team
High demand for maintenance workers in various industries
Good pay and benefits packages

Cons

Exposure to hazardous materials and chemicals
Risk of injury from working with machinery and tools
Irregular work hours, including nights and weekends
Unpredictable workload and emergency repairs
Repetitive tasks that can become tedious over time

Key steps to become a maintenance worker

Explore maintenance worker education requirements

Most common maintenance worker degrees

High School Diploma

47.6 %

Bachelor's

19.2 %

Associate

15.1 %

Start to develop specific maintenance worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Plumbing	10.44%
GRASS	7.66%
General Maintenance	7.33%
Hand Tools	5.28%
Building Maintenance	4.54%

Complete relevant maintenance worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New maintenance workers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a maintenance worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real maintenance worker resumes.

Gain additional maintenance worker certifications

Maintenance worker certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific maintenance worker certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for maintenance workers include OSHA Safety Certificate and EPA Amusement Operators Safety Certification (EPA).

More About Certifications

Research maintenance worker duties and responsibilities

Clean windows or mirrors, using cleaners, and squeegees.
Promote and enforce safety procedures; render first aid and CPR.
Conduct electrical repairs to include replacing outlets, light switches, and fixture replacements.
Identify safety hazards; respond to accidents and emergencies and administers first aid and CPR.

Prepare your maintenance worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your maintenance worker resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a maintenance worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable maintenance worker resume templates

Build a professional maintenance worker resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your maintenance worker resume.

Apply for maintenance worker jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a maintenance worker job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first maintenance worker job

Jose Huguez

Maintenance Worker, Walmart

The story of how I became a maintenance associate at Walmart was a not so bright story but it does have a good ending. I was working at Walmart as a temporary seasonal associate during that time COVID 19 was around. I would check receipts. I had a large group of teammates and it was well, we all had a priority in receipt checking. There came a day where there wasn't enough room for anymore teammates to come join the team we were told that there were some of us that needed to go to another department due to, to many associates in that department because COVID 19 regulations were coming to an end therefore room wasn't available as some tasks were no longer a necessity. A day before this choice I had helped the maintenance department due to no associate showing up, I took the role for the day. The next day as they took the choice to move people I was told that I looked like I enjoyed the maintenance department want to head over there? I said yes but not that I wanted to but because in order for me to stay at that department of receipt checking known as Customer Host at Walmart, you needed a drug test that day. I didn't have a car to drive to the clinic they recommended for the drug test. So I went to the maintenance department. I remember that I would get a lot of criticism for the move. Maintenance isn't the popular position if anything it's the department known to avoid, and that's a bad reputation because I honestly enjoyed maintenance. Something about cleaning dirty floors was satisfying, it's a underdog department. The best advice for anyone in maintenance that I can give them is this. When you clean do it as if you clean it for the Lord Jesus Christ. No seriously, it's like adding oil to your engine and everyone knows that a car without oil won't last anything. Find your motivation. Now the good ending, as I clean as I did it for GOD, I stood out my cleaning skills and patience with taking every call my management gave me without little to none complaints, gave me the opportunity for management to want me in their departments. Being in maintenance helped out open doors that checking receipts couldn't. But all credit to GOD. GOD opens doors that no one can close. To GOD be all the glory.

How do maintenance workers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Maintenance worker reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2023

Pros

Positive feeling

Cons

Emconsideration in the positive environment in which I've tried to creat.

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020

Pros

Flexibility

Cons

I have more to offer than n various task. My resume spells out my duties.

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020

Pros

Challenging, technical, always something new, part of a team.

Cons

The hours, the low pay, high expectations to perform and exceed, expectation to always be on call, low budget for repairs.

What is a maintenance worker and how to become one

What are the pros and cons of being a maintenance worker?

Maintenance worker career paths

Key steps to become a maintenance worker

Explore maintenance worker education requirements

Most common maintenance worker degrees

Start to develop specific maintenance worker skills

Complete relevant maintenance worker training and internships

Gain additional maintenance worker certifications

Research maintenance worker duties and responsibilities

Prepare your maintenance worker resume

Choose from 10+ customizable maintenance worker resume templates

Apply for maintenance worker jobs

How did you land your first maintenance worker job

Average maintenance worker salary

How do maintenance workers rate their job?

Maintenance worker reviews

Maintenance worker FAQs

How long does it take to become a Maintenance Worker?

Search for maintenance worker jobs

Maintenance worker jobs by state