Instrument Mechanic
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Instrument Mechanic occupation series (code 3359): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
With 330 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Instrument Mechanic ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Instrument Work Family family, and headcount declined from the prior period. Its average salary of $58,348 pays below the federal average.
- Headcount change
- -2.1%
- Pay change
- -0.4%
- Avg tenure
- 12.8 yrs
- Rank in family
- #1 of 5
What the Numbers Say About Instrument Mechanic
Headcount moved down versus the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend. Pay moved down between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Code 33, the Instrument Work Family family, is where the federal government classifies Instrument Mechanic alongside 4 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Instrument Mechanic postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Instrument Work Family family. Across the Instrument Work Family family, 718 employees work in 5 occupations; Instrument Mechanic is 46.0% of that headcount.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Instrument Mechanic pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$58,348
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-50.3%
Where Instrument Mechanic ranks on lean federal pay
Instrument Mechanic earns more on average than 12% of federal occupation series (67 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Instrument Mechanic sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Instrument Mechanic.
Related Occupations in Instrument Work Family
4 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precision Measurement Equipment Calibrating | 318 | $91,703 | 15.3 yrs |
| Optical Instrument Repairing | 66 | n/a | 12.7 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Instrument Work | 3 | $85,233 | 16.5 yrs |
| Instrument Making | 1 | n/a | 30.8 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Instrument Mechanic outside the Instrument Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (330 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($58,348 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Instrument Mechanic pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Instrument Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Instrument Mechanic postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.