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Maintenance Workers, Machinery vs Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians: what changes?

Consider Maintenance Workers, Machinery if you want to lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance. Consider Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians if you would rather diagnose, inspect, adjust, repair, or overhaul recreational vehicles including travel trailers. 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 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians. 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
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

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

Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians

National median pay (2025)
$52,000
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
Diagnose and repair furnace or air conditioning systems.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
2,200
Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (17,500 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians has the edge on projected growth

Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians is at 9.7% projected growth, compared with -1.9% projected growth for Maintenance Workers, Machinery.

2

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 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians: 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.

3

Maintenance Workers, Machinery has the edge on annual openings

Maintenance Workers, Machinery is at 4,400 annual openings, compared with 2,200 annual openings for Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians.

4

Maintenance Workers, Machinery has the edge on median pay

Maintenance Workers, Machinery is at $60,850, compared with $52,000 for Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians.

42.3/ 100

Maintenance Workers, Machinery

vs
56.2/ 100

Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians

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 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians

DimensionMaintenance Workers, MachineryRecreational Vehicle Service Technicians
Median pay (2025)$60,850$52,000
Pay percentile49.5 percentile36.6 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)-1.9%9.7%
Annual openings (2025–2035)4,4002,200
2025 employment59,70017,500
How you qualifyHigh school diploma or equivalent; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensingHigh school diploma or equivalent; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 3Job Zone 2
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingMore 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.