Millwrights
US occupation · SOC 49-9044
Job titles people report: Maintenance Mechanic, Maintenance Millwright, Millwright, Millwright Business Representative (Millwright Business Rep), Millwright Foreman, Millwright General Foreman, Millwright Instructor, Precision Millwright
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $65,700
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $56,390 – $81,500
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 40,330
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +0.9%
- Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 3,200
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to layout plans, blueprints, or other drawings.
Main tasks
- 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.
- Assemble machines, and bolt, weld, rivet, or otherwise fasten them to foundation or other structures, using hand tools and power tools.
- Move machinery and equipment, using hoists, dollies, rollers, and trucks.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Training once hired: apprenticeship
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians
- Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance Technology/Technician
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers
$65,380 median · -5.6% projected
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
$49,590 median · +4.2% projected
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics
$64,520 median · +17.8% projected
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers
$53,710 median · -17% projected
- Boilermakers
$76,410 median · -1.8% projected
- Machinists
$58,750 median · +1% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk