How much do field service technicians make in 2026?
Field service technician is a title used across dozens of industries, and BLS has no dedicated code for it, so the wage row here is the general maintenance and repair workers series: OEWS May 2025 gives SOC 49-9071 a national median of $49,590 a year ($23.84 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $35,350 and the top 10% at $77,180. That is a very large and very general series — 1,529,700 workers — and it sits low relative to what many specialised field service technicians actually earn, because it is dominated by general building and facility maintenance. Anyone servicing complex or regulated equipment should treat this as a floor rather than a benchmark. What sets real earnings in field service is the equipment. Technicians on medical imaging, semiconductor tools, analytical instruments, industrial automation, power generation equipment or utility metering infrastructure are trained by the manufacturer over months and are effectively irreplaceable in the short term; they sit at and above the top of this band. Technicians on general equipment with widely available skills sit near the middle. Two other factors move the number: travel, which is compensated through per-diem and often overtime, and after-hours callout coverage. Employment is projected to grow 3.8% through 2034 with roughly 159,800 openings a year. → Full field service technician career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $49,590 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Field Service Technicians earn a national median $49,590/yr ($23.84/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 49-9071); the P10 to P90 range is $35,350 to $77,180.
- The general maintenance and repair series is dominated by building and facility maintenance across 1.5 million workers, so specialised field service technicians should treat $49,590 as a floor rather than a benchmark.
- Equipment sets earnings: manufacturer-trained technicians on medical imaging, semiconductor tools, analytical instruments or utility infrastructure sit at and above the top of this band.
- Travel and after-hours callout are a large and unevenly compensated part of the job — per-diem, mileage, vehicle provision and overtime rules differ enormously between employers.
US Field Service Technician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do field service technicians earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 49-9071; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 49-9071, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a field service technician earn at each career stage?
Field service pay follows the complexity of the equipment you are certified to work on alone. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 49-9071.
By State
Which states pay field service technicians the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national maintenance and repair worker median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Field service pay depends less on state wage levels than on the installed equipment base: a technician serving a specialised industry earns similarly wherever that industry is, because the employer is often national.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($57,030), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay field service technicians the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations. Territories covering large industrial or medical equipment bases pay above the general local level.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a field service technician’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does field service technician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Field Service Technicians sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify field service technician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a field service technician actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Field Service Technician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
Field Service Technician career research journey
Do your homework, then let the network do the rest.Get the job, then keep rising
FreeSet your intent, matching jobs come to you. No applying.
A roadmap to your next licence tier and higher pay band.
Once placed, we cover all certification, licence & career-guide fees.
Hiring field service technicians?
Get a verified shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates in 48 hours
GlobalCybers verifies active state licenses, trade certifications, Intent and right-to-work status before any candidate reaches your portal. Flat $2,999/mo RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), up to 3 concurrent roles, or a free trial (pay on hire). 90-day written guarantee.
Related · Field Service Technician
Everything for field service technicians in one place
Salary data, licensing, interview prep, and hiring, all cross-linked so you (and search engines) can move through the full field service technician cluster.