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Industrial Mechanic

Industrial 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
$64,520per year, U.S. BLS 2025
Entry education
Vocational training or associate's degreetypical for the occupation
Outlook
BrightO*NET Bright Outlook occupation

SOURCE · O*NET 49-9041.00 and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures are national and vary widely by state and setting.

What the work involves

Repair, install, adjust, or maintain industrial production and processing machinery or refinery and pipeline distribution systems. May also install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to plans.

Skills rated most important

Equipment Maintenance75
Operation and Control75
Operations Monitoring75
Repairing75
Troubleshooting75

Work context

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams89
Contact With Others81
Spend Time Standing74
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled73
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled64
Spend Time Walking or Running61
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body40
Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling35
Spend Time Sitting30
Spend Time Climbing Ladders, Scaffolds, or Poles25
Spend Time Keeping or Regaining Balance21

O*NET importance and frequency ratings, 0–100.

The trait profile

Where Industrial Mechanic profiles sit on the eleven Haliscope traits, derived from O*NET’s published interest and work-style data.

Operating98
Organizing56
Safety-Seeking53
Persevering44
Analyzing35
Law-Abiding34
Exploring29
Harmonizing14
Influencing5
Creating2
Helping2

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 Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.
  • Moderate Safety-Seeking. Measures your preference for stability and predictability. High scorers value security, prefer familiar environments, and carefully weigh risks before acting.
  • Moderate Law-Abiding. Measures your commitment to ethics, rules, and fairness. High scorers value honesty, follow procedures, and prefer environments with clear moral guidelines.

Friction points

  • Low Operating. Measures your preference for hands-on, practical work. High scorers thrive in action-oriented roles with tangible outputs and prefer doing over theorizing.
  • Low Organizing. Measures your preference for structure, detail, and systematic processes. High scorers excel at creating order, optimizing workflows, and maintaining precision.

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.

Will AI replace Industrial Mechanic?

Is this profile yours?

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