Fleet Maintenance Technicians

Maintaining a bus, rental car, construction equipment, or other type of fleet component is key to the proper functioning of businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. The work of fleet maintenance technicians helps their employer save money and reduce the risk of breakdowns (and delays in delivering or transporting goods, providing services to people, and completing other tasks). As a result, there will continue to be good demand for these technicians.

Job opportunities for technicians vary by employment sector. For example, employment of bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in all sectors is projected to increase 3 percent from 2023 to 2033, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This is about as fast as the average for all careers. Opportunities for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists who work for companies that provide automotive equipment rental and leasing services will increase by 9.8 percent (much faster than the average) during this same time span.

Employment for general automotive service technicians and mechanics is expected to increase about as fast as the average through 2033, according to the DOL. Much-faster-than-average employment growth is expected for technicians and mechanics in the following job sectors: couriers and express delivery services; other transit and ground passenger transportation; freight transportation arrangement; waste collection; and automotive equipment rental and leasing.

Much-faster-than-average employment growth through 2033 is expected for heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians because agricultural technology is becoming increasingly complex and because the commercial and residential construction sectors are rebounding after a downturn during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, more mechanics will be needed to maintain and repair heavy construction equipment that is used to repair or build new infrastructure (roads, bridges, ports, etc.) in the United States. Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers publishes a Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which assigns letter grades based on the physical condition of U.S. infrastructure. Its 2021 report awarded a C- to the United States, which suggests that there is a strong need for infrastructure improvements.