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Diesel Mechanic
Diesel Mechanic profiles score highest on Operating and Organizing. This page covers what the work involves, what the trait profile looks like, what it pays, and where the fit tends to break.
- Median pay
- $61,770per year, U.S. BLS 2025
- Entry education
- Vocational training or associate's degreetypical for the occupation
SOURCE · O*NET 49-3031.00 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are national and vary widely by state and setting.
What the work involves
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul buses and trucks, or maintain and repair any type of diesel engines. Includes mechanics working primarily with automobile or marine diesel engines.
Skills rated most important
Work context
O*NET importance and frequency ratings, 0–100.
The trait profile
Where Diesel Mechanic profiles sit on the eleven Haliscope traits, derived from O*NET’s published interest and work-style data.
Who it fits, and who it doesn’t
Strong signals
- High Operating. Measures your preference for hands-on, practical work. High scorers thrive in action-oriented roles with tangible outputs and prefer doing over theorizing.
- High Analyzing. Measures your drive to understand systems and solve problems. High scorers are knowledge-seeking, strategic thinkers who enjoy investigating and finding solutions.
- High Creating. Measures your inclination toward original thinking and artistic expression. High scorers generate innovative ideas and find rigid structure limiting.
- High Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
- High Exploring. Measures your openness to new experiences and curiosity about the unknown. High scorers seek novelty, enjoy experimentation, and value the journey itself.
- High Persevering. Measures your persistence and resilience in the face of challenges. High scorers push through obstacles, maintain long-term focus, and value grit as both means and end.
- High Law-Abiding. Measures your commitment to ethics, rules, and fairness. High scorers value honesty, follow procedures, and prefer environments with clear moral guidelines.
- High Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
Friction points
- Low Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
- Low Persevering. Measures your persistence and resilience in the face of challenges. High scorers push through obstacles, maintain long-term focus, and value grit as both means and end.
- Low Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
These are what the occupation’s profile says, not a hiring criterion. Haliscope is not validated for hiring or screening, and none of these is disqualifying — they are where a fit most often breaks.
Getting in
Entry education: Vocational training or associate's degree.
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
O*NET Job Zone descriptions, U.S. Department of Labor.
Exposure to AI
How much of this work AI can already do, and how much AI tools help the people doing it, is scored task by task in the AI Risk Index.
Related occupations
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