Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul farm machinery and vehicles, such as tractors, harvesters, dairy equipment, and irrigation systems.
37,870 people do this job in the US. $56,550 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 3%
- 0%
- 97%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 3%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain, repair, and overhaul farm machinery and vehicles, such as tractors, harvesters, and irrigation systems.Done daily by most who do it. | 18% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Repair or replace defective parts, using hand tools, milling and woodworking machines, lathes, welding equipment, grinders, or saws.Done daily by most who do it. | 17% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Reassemble machines and equipment following repair, testing operation and making adjustments, as necessary.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 14% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Tune or overhaul engines.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 13% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Dismantle defective machines for repair, using hand tools.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 11% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Test and replace electrical components and wiring, using test meters, soldering equipment, and hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean and lubricate parts.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine and listen to equipment, read inspection reports, and confer with customers to locate and diagnose malfunctions.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Fabricate new metal parts, using drill presses, engine lathes, and other machine tools.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Drive trucks to haul tools and equipment for on-site repair of large machinery.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Record details of repairs made and parts used.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Repair bent or torn sheet metal.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines5% now, 5% by 2028
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics15% now, 17% by 2028
- Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics8% now, 8% by 2028
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General5% now, 15% by 2028
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers8% now, 9% by 2028
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers26,710 people
- Support Activities for Crop Production3,230 people
- Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance1,710 people
- Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4241, 4247, and 4249 only)1,340 people
- Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Retailers1,160 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).