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Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul small engines used to power lawn mowers, chain saws, recreational sporting equipment, and related equipment.

Related: Bus & Truck Mechanics & Diesel Engine Specialists Electric Motor, Power Tool, & Related Repairers Farm Equipment Mechanics & Service Technicians Motorboat Mechanics & Service Technicians Motorcycle Mechanics

Industries: Retail Administration & Support Services Arts & Entertainment

Summary
Details

Perform routine maintenance such as cleaning and oiling parts, honing cylinders, and tuning ignition systems.
Dismantle engines, using hand tools, and examine parts for defects.
Repair and maintain gasoline engines used to power equipment such as portable saws, lawn mowers, generators, and compressors.
Perform routine maintenance such as cleaning and oiling parts, honing cylinders, and tuning ignition systems.
Repair or replace defective parts such as magnetos, water pumps, gears, pistons, and carburetors, using hand tools.
Remove engines from equipment, and position and bolt engines to repair stands.
Repair or replace defective parts such as magnetos, water pumps, gears, pistons, and carburetors, using hand tools.
Perform routine maintenance such as cleaning and oiling parts, honing cylinders, and tuning ignition systems.
Replace motors.
Show customers how to maintain equipment.
Remove engines from equipment, and position and bolt engines to repair stands.
Sell parts and equipment.
Record repairs made, time spent, and parts used.
Test and inspect engines to determine malfunctions, to locate missing and broken parts, and to verify repairs, using diagnostic instruments.
Repair and maintain gasoline engines used to power equipment such as portable saws, lawn mowers, generators, and compressors.
Adjust points, valves, carburetors, distributors, and spark plug gaps, using feeler gauges.
Obtain problem descriptions from customers, and prepare cost estimates for repairs.
Test and inspect engines to determine malfunctions, to locate missing and broken parts, and to verify repairs, using diagnostic instruments.
Dismantle engines, using hand tools, and examine parts for defects.
Reassemble engines after repair or maintenance work is complete.
Obtain problem descriptions from customers, and prepare cost estimates for repairs.
Remove engines from equipment, and position and bolt engines to repair stands.
Grind, ream, rebore, and re-tap parts to obtain specified clearances, using grinders, lathes, taps, reamers, boring machines, and micrometers.

Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.

Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

52260/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

25.13/hr

Currently Employed

870

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Attention to Detail
Integrity
Independence
Achievement/Effort
Analytical Thinking

Air compressors
Allen wrench
Automotive honing machine
Ball peen hammer
Bearing fitting tool kits
Calipers
Center punch
Circuit tester
Cold chisels
Combination pliers
Combination wrenches
Compression pressure gauge
Crankshaft grinder
Crimping pliers
Crows foot wrench
Diagonal cut pliers
Drill bit set
Feeler gauges
Flashlight
Flat hand file
Grinders
Growler tester
Hacksaw
Hand reamer
Hex keys
Hold down clamps
Hole gauge
Hour meter
Impact screwdriver
Impact wrenches
Infrared thermometer
Inspection mirror
Locking pliers
Machine reamer
Magnetic tools
Manual wire straighteners
Minivans or vans
Multimeters
Needlenose pliers
Parallel pin punch
Personal computers
Picks
Piston ring compressor
Piston ring expander
Power drills
Pullers
Punches or nail sets or drifts
Ratchets
Retaining ring pliers
Rubber mallet
Scanners
Screw extractors
Screwdrivers
Socket attachments and accessories
Socket sets
Sockets
Soldering iron
Spanner wrenches
Spark plug gap gauge
Spark plug tester
Spark plug wrench
Specialty wrenches
Stripping tools
Tachometers
Tape measures
Taps
Telescoping gauge
Tongs
Torque wrenches
Valve refacer
Valve seat cutter
Valve spring compressor
Voltage or current meters
Wire brushes
Wire cutters
Wrench accessories and supplies

Analytical or scientific software
Data base user interface and query software
Internet browser software
Office suite software
Point of sale POS software
Spreadsheet software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics

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