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Industrial Machinery Mechanics vs Heavy Equipment Mechanics

Median pay is about $1k higher for Heavy Equipment Mechanics. Both usually start with the same education: high school.

marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.

Industrial Machinery Mechanics compared with Heavy Equipment Mechanics: pay, outlook, entry and AI exposure
MeasureIndustrial Machinery MechanicsHeavy Equipment Mechanics
Pay
Median pay$64,520$65,510, higher
Entry pay 25th percentile$55,010$56,970, higher
Experienced pay 75th percentile$78,780$79,270, higher
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Projected growth+18% Growing fast, higher+6.7% Growing fast
Openings a year44,40015,000
Getting in
Typical educationHigh schoolHigh school
Difficulty modeled2.2 / 52 / 5
AI
Displacement risk modeledModerateLow
AI exposure modeled, percentile22nd pct7th pct

Where the skills differ

Only Industrial Machinery Mechanics

  • Monitoring

Only Heavy Equipment Mechanics

  • Writing

Both lean on critical thinking, active listening, active learning, speaking, reading comprehension.

More comparisons

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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.