Chapter 1 Careers in Industrial Maintenance 7 have more specialized responsibilities and more oppor- tunity for advancement. Careers can span from entry level to supervision or from general technician to much more specifi c areas of expertise. See Figure 1-4. Th e path your career takes depends on your interests. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), median salaries for industrial maintenance technician occupations are in the range of $24–$27 per hour, or $50,000–$56,000 per year. In addition, the Occupa- tional Outlook Handbook projects over 32,000 new industrial maintenance positions to be created in the Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 1-4. Employment in the industrial maintenance fi eld allows many pathways for advancements as you gain skills and experience. Your choices and actions will determine the path of your career. Entry-level general maintenance Senior electrical or mechanical troubleshooter Electrical or mechanical team leader PLC programmer Process control engineering technician Supervisor of outside contracts Educational coordinator Increasing skills and responsibilities United States between 2016 and 2026. Th is increase will bring the total number of industrial maintenance work- ers to over 500,000. See Figure 1-5. T E C H T I P Median Salary Median salary represents the middle of a range of salaries, with half earning less than the median sal- ary and half earning more than the median salary. Goodheart-Willcox Publisher, data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics Figure 1-5. The number of industrial maintenance technicians in the United States is projected to increase in coming years. In addition, retirement of older workers will create a large number of additional job openings. Number of Industrial Maintenance Technicians in the United States 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 476,100 500,000 508,500 2016 2026 (projected) 32,400 new positions Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.