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Highway Maintenance Workers

Also called: Equipment Operator (EO), Highway Maintenance Worker, Highway Maintainer, Highway Maintenance Technician

What they do:
Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement, repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road or plow snow from roadway.
On the job, you would:
  • Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
  • Set out signs and cones around work areas to divert traffic.
  • Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.

Knowledge

Safety and Government
  • public safety and security
  • law and government
Engineering and Technology
  • building and construction
  • mechanical
Education and Training
  • teaching and course design
Arts and Humanities
  • English language

Skills

Basic Skills
  • keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Abilities

Controlled Movement
  • quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat
  • use your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down
Hand and Finger Use
  • keep your arm or hand steady
  • hold or move items with your hands
Attention
  • pay attention to something without being distracted
  • do two or more things at the same time
Spatial
  • imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include
practical, hands-on problems and solutions.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Self Control
  • Dependability
  • Cooperation
  • Attention to Detail
  • Concern for Others
  • Leadership

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel
Word processing software
  • Microsoft Word
Electronic mail software
  • Microsoft Outlook

Education

Education: (rated 2 of 5)
high school diploma or
some college
usually needed

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Below Average Outlook
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
Salary
$35,220
per year, on average
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about highway maintenance workers.