Skip to content
Boston Career Explorer

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

Millwrights

Install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to layout plans, blueprints, or other drawings.

Also called: Maintenance Mechanic, Maintenance Millwright, Millwright, Millwright Business Representative (Millwright Business Rep), Millwright Foreman, Millwright General Foreman

Median pay in Greater Boston
$65,220
$31.36/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
Not published
Massachusetts 2024–2034
Not published
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Apprenticeship

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$60,260$62,280$65,220$72,410$78,600

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Replace defective parts of machine, or adjust clearances and alignment of moving parts.
  • Align machines or equipment, using hoists, jacks, hand tools, squares, rules, micrometers, lasers, or plumb bobs.
  • Insert shims, adjust tension on nuts and bolts, or position parts, using hand tools and measuring instruments, to set specified clearances between moving and stationary parts.
  • Signal crane operator to lower basic assembly units to bedplate, and align unit to centerline.
  • Conduct preventative maintenance and repair, and lubricate machines and equipment.
  • Assemble and install equipment, using hand tools and power tools.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure9 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 8
  • Language-model AIOE 7
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 12

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is low, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools may help with reading plans or drawings, but aligning heavy machines, setting clearances, and doing repairs are hands-on tasks they do not do. Growth for this job is not projected.

Likely to change

  • Reading layout plans and blueprints
  • Planning maintenance schedules

Still relies on people

  • Aligning heavy machines with precise tools
  • Working with crane operators on lifts

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Structural Iron and Steel Workers

    Aligning equipment with lasers and plumb bobs and reading blueprints carry over. Median pay is much higher at $120,840, but it requires an apprenticeship.

    Pay difference
    +$55,620 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Crane and Tower Operators

    You already signal crane operators during lifts, so you know the work. Median pay is $98,140, with projected growth of 16.1%.

    Pay difference
    +$32,920 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +16.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Glaziers

    Reading blueprints and checking plumb and level carry over. Median pay is $107,610, and it requires an apprenticeship.

    Pay difference
    +$42,390 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +4.9%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Who employs millwrights on Boston construction projects

Hours worked on projects covered by the Boston Residents Jobs Policy over the last 24 months. This shows who has employed millwrights, not who has openings.

1,350 worker hours from Oct 20, 2024 to Oct 19, 2026 (trades: Millwright).

0.0%
of hours by boston residents
4.7%
of hours by people of color
0.0%
of hours by women
Top employers by worker hours
EmployerWorker hoursBoston resident shareProjects
Cora Electric1,1500.0%1

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

Talk to a career coach