Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers

Architecture and ConstructionO*NET 47-4021.00United States

Assemble, install, repair, or maintain electric or hydraulic freight or passenger elevators, escalators, or dumbwaiters.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $109,907
Projected change: +7.1%
Typical education: High school diploma or less
Employment: 24.8K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What elevator and escalator installers and repairers do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
Assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters.
Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.
Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment.
Adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings.
Read and interpret blueprints to determine the layout of system components, frameworks, and foundations, and to select installation equipment.
Connect car frames to counterweights, using steel cables.
Connect electrical wiring to control panels and electric motors.
Maintain log books that detail all repairs and checks performed.
Test newly installed equipment to ensure that it meets specifications, such as stopping at floors for set amounts of time.
Participate in additional training to keep skills up to date.
Operate elevators to determine power demands, and test power consumption to detect overload factors.
Install electrical wires and controls by attaching conduit along shaft walls from floor to floor and pulling plastic-covered wires through the conduit.
Attach guide shoes and rollers to minimize the lateral motion of cars as they travel through shafts.
Install outer doors and door frames at elevator entrances on each floor of a structure.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $59,259
25th percentile: $79,290
50th percentile: $109,907
75th percentile: $135,720
90th percentile: $158,891

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $109,907 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+7.1%faster than average

202524,804 jobs

2035 projected26,555 jobs

1,751 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

High school diploma or less: 47.5%
Certificate: 47.1%
Associate degree: 4.5%
Some college: 0.5%
Bachelor's degree: 0.3%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Lifting Ability
Mechanics
Hydraulics
Good Driving Record
Blueprinting
Preventive Maintenance
Control Systems
Hand Tools
Wheelchair Lifts
Power Tool Operation
Safety Standards
Technical Communication
Electrical Systems
Electrical Wiring
Field Service Management
Wiring Diagram
Mechanical Systems
Hoisting
ASME Boiler And Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC)
Machinery

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Operations Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Installation: Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Equipment Selection: Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Evaluation: Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Elevator Mechanics277 postings
02Elevator Technicians18 postings
03Apprentice Elevator Mechanics16 postings
04Elevator Inspectors11 postings
05Elevator Constructor Apprentices9 postings
06Adjusters4 postings
07CDL-A Truck Drivers4 postings
08Elevator Constructors4 postings
09Installer Helpers4 postings
10Elevator Managers3 postings
11Residential Installers3 postings
12Shipboard Doctors3 postings
13Certified Electricians1 postings
14Electrical/Mechanical Technicians1 postings
15Elevator Workers1 postings
16Escalation Leads1 postings
17Facilities Mechanics1 postings
18ICT Accessibility Testers1 postings
19Installation Mechanics1 postings
20Installation Technicians1 postings

Top employers

01Southeast Elevator18 postings
02Orange Elevator17 postings
03Span-America12 postings
04Elevator Services Group11 postings
05Systematic Business Consulting11 postings
06Span-America Medical Systems10 postings
07Epsilon Systems Solutions9 postings
08Nationwide Lifts8 postings
09Aerotek7 postings
10Goodwin Recruiting6 postings
11Indiana University-Bloomington6 postings
12D C Elevator Co5 postings
13National Elevator Industry Educational Program5 postings
14Charter Elevator4 postings
15KONE4 postings
16Michigan State University4 postings
17Molson Coors4 postings
18New York City4 postings
19University Of Michigan4 postings
20University of Houston4 postings

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