A maintenance helper provides assistance to more skilled workers. Often a maintenance helper is learning the necessary skills to become a full-fledged maintenance repair worker. These helper positions serve as a steppingstone toward more responsibility and higher pay.

What They Do

Maintenance helpers assist maintenance technicians in installing, maintaining and repairing equipment and machinery and in repairing vehicles. Their duties include: handing tools, supplies and materials to other workers; preparing the work area; and cleaning the work area or equipment. Some of the tools maintenance helpers learn to use include hammers, hoists, pneumatic hammers, front-end loaders and screw drivers.

Where They Work

Maintenance helpers work both indoors and outdoors. They may assist a maintenance technician in a single building or work in many buildings, such as an apartment complex. Helpers sometimes have to work in extreme heat or cold or in awkward or uncomfortable positions.

How THey Qualify

Applicants for maintenance helper jobs often aspire to advance to maintenance worker after learning the necessary skills. Employers typically require a high school diploma for helpers and provide short-term on-the-job training. For example, helpers begin by performing simple tasks, such as replacing light bulbs or fixing leaky faucets. They gradually progress to more complex tasks, such as building walls. After several months of learning the necessary skills, a successful trainee can advance to fully-qualified maintenance technician.

What They Earn

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, installation, maintenance and repair helpers overall earned a mean hourly wage of $19.64 and a mean annual wage of $40,850 as of May 2020. The industries that employed the most maintenance helpers were automotive repair, paying a mean annual wage of $22,720; building equipment contractors, $26,240; automobile dealers, $24,480; local government, $34,720; and commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance, $27,180.

Job Growth

Employment for installation, maintenance and repair workers is expected to increase at 8 to 14 percent between 2012 and 2022, according to the BLS as cited by the Occupational Information Network. The exact rate of growth depends on the particular industry. By way of comparison, the BLS predicts an 11 percent increase in employment for all occupations combined.

General Maintenance and Repair Workers salary

• Top 10% Annual Salary: More than $65,590 ($31.53/hour)
• Median Annual Salary: $40,850 ($19.64/hour)
• Bottom 10% Annual Salary: Less than $26,130 ($12.56/hour)