Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic

What the Numbers Say About Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic

Federal agencies employ 5,059 people in the Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic occupation (OPM code 5803), accounting for 0.2% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -2.4% versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.

The average salary for Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic is $73,934 per year, placing it 32.7% below the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 1.6% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. Average length of service in this role is 11.5 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic sits inside the Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family family (code 58), which contains 5 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Heavy Mobile Equipment Mechanic makes up 38.6% of the 13,090 employees across the Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family family, ranking #2 of 5 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (20th percentile) of pay among Transportation/mobile Equipment Maintenance Family occupations.