Career-PathGPS
← All education and training
Career

Highway Maintenance Workers

Typical education: High school diplomaHigh pressure

What they do

Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.

Kinds of work

  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $50,260 Median per year · $24.16/hr Most earn $36,230–$71,970

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Erect, install, or repair guardrails, road shoulders, berms, highway markers, warning signals, and highway lighting, using hand tools and power tools.
  • Flag motorists to warn them of obstacles or repair work ahead.
  • Perform preventative maintenance on vehicles and heavy equipment.
  • Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.
  • Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.
  • Inspect, clean, and repair drainage systems, bridges, tunnels, and other structures.

Job outlook

United States
3% more jobs by 2035, about as fast as average · about 11,800 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Local government, excluding education and hospitals69.8%
  • State government, excluding education and hospitals25.5%
  • Highway, street, and bridge construction2.2%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 6 months to 1 year

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: High school diplomaExperience before this job: 6 months to 1 year

Highway Maintenance Worker is an entry-level job. You can usually start with a high school diploma, and most people learn the work on the job over about 6 months to 1 year.

  1. High school diploma

    4 years

    A diploma is the usual minimum, and classes in math, shop, or driver's education help show you can handle physical, outdoor work.

  2. Highway Maintenance Worker

    6 months to 1 year to learn the job

    You learn on the job by patching pavement, repairing guard rails and signs, clearing brush, and plowing snow under a crew supervisor, which builds the experience you need for the next steps.

Where it can lead

  1. Paving Equipment Operator

    1-2 years of experience first

    You move from hand tools and crew work to running paving and surfacing machines, which requires training on the equipment and a good safety record.

  2. Operating Engineer

    2-4 years of experience first

    You learn to run heavier construction equipment such as loaders, graders, and dozers, usually through hands-on experience and sometimes a formal apprenticeship.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take shop, auto, or welding classesHands-on skills with tools and small engines are useful for repairing guard rails, signs, and road equipment.
  • Get a summer or part-time job doing outdoor laborYard work, landscaping, or a farm job teaches you to work in heat and cold and to keep a steady pace.
  • Earn a driver's license and learn basic vehicle safetyMany road crews need workers who can drive work trucks, so this opens doors right away.
  • Join a school club like FFA or a trades club, if your school has oneThese groups build teamwork and leadership, and they often offer hands-on projects.

In college

  • Take a few math and physical science classesBasic math and science help you understand measurements, materials, and road safety standards.
  • Look for a summer job with a road crew, public works department, or construction companyReal field experience is exactly what employers want, and it can count toward the typical 6 months to 1 year needed for this job.
  • Get a commercial driver's license (CDL) if it's offered locallyMany road maintenance jobs value drivers who can operate large trucks, which can make you a stronger candidate.
  • Take a safety course, such as first aid or flagger certification, if your school or town offers itRoad work is dangerous near traffic, and these certifications show employers you take safety seriously.

Tips for getting started

  • Ask about on-the-job training when you apply. Many highway departments and contractors train new workers themselves, so you don't need a college degree.
  • Get a valid driver's license early. Many road crews need drivers who can operate trucks, and it can make you a stronger applicant.
  • Show you're reliable. Good attendance, teamwork, and following safety rules matter a lot on outdoor crews.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

  • Ground Transportation Certificate: typical pay 1 year after finishing $48,327 a year · typical debt $6,365

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

Related careers