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Boston Career Explorer

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers

Help installation, maintenance, and repair workers in maintenance, parts replacement, and repair of vehicles, industrial machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment. Perform duties such as furnishing tools, materials, and supplies to other workers; cleaning work area, machines, and tools; and holding materials or tools for other workers.

Also called: HVAC Helper (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Helper), HVAC Installation Helper (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning Installation Helper), Maintenance Aide, Maintenance Helper, Mechanic Helper, Mechanic Repair Helper

Compare with my current job (Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$45,760
$22.00/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
850
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+4.9%
190 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Short-term on-the-job training

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
$36,540$41,600$45,760$53,280$55,240

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

What you’d do

  • Install or replace machinery, equipment, and new or replacement parts and instruments, using hand or power tools.
  • Examine and test machinery, equipment, components, and parts for defects to ensure proper functioning.
  • Tend and observe equipment and machinery to verify efficient and safe operation.
  • Adjust, connect, or disconnect wiring, piping, tubing, and other parts, using hand or power tools.
  • Clean or lubricate vehicles, machinery, equipment, instruments, tools, work areas, and other objects, using hand tools, power tools, and cleaning equipment.
  • Hold or supply tools, parts, equipment, and supplies for other workers.

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 exposure5 of 100

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

  • AIOE 6
  • Language-model AIOE 6
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 3

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. The work is mostly hands-on: installing parts, connecting wiring and piping, and cleaning and lubricating equipment, and AI tools do not do these things. AI-based testing tools may help with checking equipment for defects, but a person still has to do the work.

Likely to change

  • Testing equipment for defects
  • Checking that machines run properly

Still relies on people

  • Installing parts with hand and power tools
  • Connecting wiring, piping, and tubing

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.

  • Construction Laborers

    You already clean, lubricate, and repair equipment with tools. Construction Laborers do similar work, with a higher Boston median pay and faster projected growth in Massachusetts.

    Pay difference
    +$17,660 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +9.5%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Structural Iron and Steel Workers

    Your tool skills and comfort with equipment carry over. This apprenticeship path offers much higher Boston median pay ($120,840) and very low AI exposure.

    Pay difference
    +$75,080 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Roofers

    Roofers inspect problems to decide on repairs, like you examine equipment for defects. The job pays more and is learned on the job.

    Pay difference
    +$20,590 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +7.7%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

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.

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.

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