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General Maintenance Technician

Skilled Trades

Perform work involving the skills of two or more maintenance or craft occupations to keep machines, mechanical equipment, or the structure of a building in repair. Duties may involve pipe fitting; HVAC maintenance; insulating; welding; machining; carpentry; repairing electrical or mechanical equipment; installing, aligning, and balancing new equipment; and repairing buildings, floors, or stairs.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Mechanical Engineering

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Perform routine maintenance, such as inspecting drives, motors, or belts, checking fluid levels, replacing filters, or doing other preventive maintenance actions.
  2. 2Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.
  3. 3Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.
  4. 4Repair machines, equipment, or structures, using tools such as hammers, hoists, saws, drills, wrenches, or equipment such as precision measuring instruments or electrical or electronic testing devices.
  5. 5Order parts, supplies, or equipment from catalogs or suppliers.
  6. 6Perform routine maintenance on boilers, such as replacing burners or hoses, installing replacement parts, or reinforcing structural weaknesses to ensure optimal boiler efficiency.
  7. 7Diagnose mechanical problems and determine how to correct them, checking blueprints, repair manuals, or parts catalogs, as necessary.
  8. 8Design new equipment to aid in the repair or maintenance of machines, mechanical equipment, or building structures.
  9. 9Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.
  10. 10Clean or lubricate shafts, bearings, gears, or other parts of machinery.
  11. 11Provide groundskeeping services, such as landscaping or snow removal.
  12. 12Maintain or repair specialized equipment or machinery located in cafeterias, laundries, hospitals, stores, offices, or factories.
  13. 13Estimate costs to repair machinery, equipment, or building structures.
  14. 14Record type and cost of maintenance or repair work.
  15. 15Operate cutting torches or welding equipment to cut or join metal parts.
  16. 16Align and balance new equipment after installation.
  17. 17Dismantle machines, equipment, or devices to access and remove defective parts, using hoists, cranes, hand tools, or power tools.
  18. 18Inspect used parts to determine changes in dimensional requirements, using rules, calipers, micrometers, or other measuring instruments.
  19. 19Plan and lay out repair work, using diagrams, drawings, blueprints, maintenance manuals, or schematic diagrams.
  20. 20Install equipment to improve the energy or operational efficiency of residential or commercial buildings.
  21. 21Assemble boilers at installation sites, using tools such as levels, plumb bobs, hammers, torches, or other hand tools.
  22. 22Set up and operate machine tools to repair or fabricate machine parts, jigs, fixtures, or tools.
  23. 23Perform general cleaning of buildings or properties.
  24. 24Train or manage maintenance personnel or subcontractors.
  25. 25Fabricate or repair counters, benches, partitions, or other wooden structures, such as sheds or outbuildings.
  26. 26Paint or repair roofs, windows, doors, floors, woodwork, plaster, drywall, or other parts of building structures.
  27. 27Position, attach, or blow insulating materials to prevent energy losses from buildings, pipes, or other structures or objects.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Handyman
  • Handy Man
  • Field Tech
  • Maintenance Man
  • Pool Technician
  • Trouble Shooter
  • Building Engineer
  • Building Mechanic
  • Building Repairer
  • Mechanical Expert

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. Typical entry

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationPost-secondary certificate

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
PhysicsDraws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Civil Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Building and Construction — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Mechanical81%

    Mechanical Engineering StudiesPhysicsDesign & Technology (RBT)

  • English Language74%

    English

  • Building and Construction74%

    Civil Engineering StudiesEngineering DrawingDesign & Technology (RBT)

  • Mathematics67%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • Production and Processing61%

    Design & Technology (RBT)Mechanical Engineering Studies

  • Customer and Personal Service58%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherEvery day
  • Noisy environmentEvery day

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Use drones for inspecting roofs, gutters, and other hard-to-reach areas of buildings.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Matriculation

One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry.

12–24 months

Related careers

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Maintenance and Repair Workers, General

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org