The median annual wage for elevator installers and repairers was $70,910 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $39,060, and the top 10 percent earned more than $101,390.
The starting pay for apprentices is usually between 30 percent and 50 percent of what fully trained elevator installers and repairers make. They get pay increases as they become more skilled.
Assistant mechanics, by union contract, get 80 percent of the rate paid to journey elevator installers and repairers.
Nearly all elevator installers and repairers work full time, which may include evenings and weekends. They often are required to be on call to handle emergencies. Overtime is common on construction sites because deadlines must be met.
Many elevator installers and repairers are members of a union. Although no single union covers all elevator installers and repairers, the largest organizer of these workers is the International Union of Elevator Constructors.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition