Automotive Service Technicians vs Heavy Equipment Mechanics
Median pay is about $15k higher for Heavy Equipment Mechanics. The usual entry education is postsecondary cert for Automotive Service Technicians and high school for Heavy Equipment Mechanics.
marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.
| Measure | Automotive Service Technicians | Heavy Equipment Mechanics |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | ||
| Median pay | $50,620 | $65,510, higher |
| Entry pay 25th percentile | $38,900 | $56,970, higher |
| Experienced pay 75th percentile | $70,430 | $79,270, higher |
| Outlook, 2025 to 2035 | ||
| Projected growth | +5.0% Growing fast | +6.7% Growing fast, higher |
| Openings a year | 66,200 | 15,000 |
| Getting in | ||
| Typical education | Postsecondary cert | High school |
| Difficulty modeled | 2 / 5 | 2 / 5 |
| AI | ||
| Displacement risk modeled | Low | Low |
| AI exposure modeled, percentile | 9th pct | 7th pct |
Where the skills differ
Only Automotive Service Technicians
- Monitoring
Only Heavy Equipment Mechanics
- Active Learning
Both lean on critical thinking, active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, writing.
More comparisons
Compare Automotive Service Technicians with
Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.