Maintenance Workers, Machinery vs Rail Car Repairers: $61K vs $68K Median Pay

Maintenance Workers, Machinery vs Rail Car Repairers: what changes?

Consider Maintenance Workers, Machinery if you want to lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance. Consider Rail Car Repairers if you would rather diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul railroad rolling stock, mine cars, or mass transit rail cars. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Maintenance Workers, Machinery and Rail Car Repairers. 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

Maintenance Workers, Machinery

National median pay (2025): $60,850
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than 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 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Dismantle machines and remove parts for repair, using hand tools, chain falls, jacks, cranes, or hoists.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 4,400

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 1.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Maintenance Workers, Machinery brief

Rail Car Repairers

National median pay (2025): $67,530
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than 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 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Record conditions of cars, and repair and maintenance work performed or to be performed.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,600

Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (20,100 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Rail Car Repairers brief

How the national numbers differ

Rail Car Repairers has the edge on projected growth

Rail Car Repairers is at 2.6% projected growth, compared with -1.9% projected growth for Maintenance Workers, Machinery.

Maintenance Workers, Machinery has the edge on annual openings

Maintenance Workers, Machinery is at 4,400 annual openings, compared with 1,600 annual openings for Rail Car Repairers.

Typical preparation differs.

Maintenance Workers, Machinery: High school diploma or equivalent; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Rail Car Repairers: High school diploma or equivalent; More than 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.

Rail Car Repairers has the edge on median pay

Rail Car Repairers is at $67,530, compared with $60,850 for Maintenance Workers, Machinery.

42.3/ 100

Maintenance Workers, Machinery

50/ 100

Rail Car Repairers

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

Maintenance Workers, Machinery vs Rail Car Repairers

Dimension	Maintenance Workers, Machinery	Rail Car Repairers
Median pay (2025)	$60,850	$67,530
Pay percentile	49.5 percentile	58.9 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-1.9%	2.6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	4,400	1,600
2025 employment	59,700	20,100
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	High school diploma or equivalent; More than 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	More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than 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 Maintenance Workers, Machinery brief Read Rail Car Repairers brief

Maintenance Workers, Machinery vs Rail Car Repairers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Maintenance Workers, Machinery

Rail Car Repairers

How the national numbers differ

Rail Car Repairers has the edge on projected growth

Maintenance Workers, Machinery has the edge on annual openings

Typical preparation differs.

Rail Car Repairers has the edge on median pay

Maintenance Workers, Machinery vs Rail Car Repairers

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