Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: $110K vs $53K Median Pay

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: what changes?

Consider Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers if you want to assemble, install, repair, or maintain electric or hydraulic freight or passenger elevators, escalators, or dumbwaiters. Consider Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators if you would rather operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers and Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

National median pay (2025): $109,910
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate: Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,900

Know before you choose

The usual entry route includes an apprenticeship. Interest in the subject is not a substitute for supervised, paid training.

See the full Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers brief

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

National median pay (2025): $53,340
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 3,100

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators brief

How the national numbers differ

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers has the edge on median pay

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers is at $109,910, compared with $53,340 for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators.

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers has the edge on projected growth

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers is at 5.7% projected growth, compared with -0.9% projected growth for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators.

Typical preparation differs.

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers: High school diploma or equivalent; Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators has the edge on annual openings

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators is at 3,100 annual openings, compared with 1,900 annual openings for Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers.

62.2/ 100

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

42/ 100

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Dimension	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Median pay (2025)	$109,910	$53,340
Pay percentile	87.9 percentile	38.6 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	5.7%	-0.9%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	1,900	3,100
2025 employment	24,700	42,300
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements	High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 3	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements.	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers brief Read Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators brief

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

How the national numbers differ

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers has the edge on median pay

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers has the edge on projected growth

Typical preparation differs.

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators has the edge on annual openings

Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

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