Although work often involves diagnosing or fixing broken equipment, machinists and mechanics also do preventive maintenance. There are opportunities to work both traditional forty-hour weeks and swing shifts in these careers, which allows for some flexibility. There's not much turnover in most of these jobs. People often stay at one job for a long time.
Work conditions can often be loud, so it is important to have hearing protection.
For some occupations, such as airplane mechanics, the work may be done outside in a variety of weather conditions, but most mechanics work indoors. Related jobs include electrician, carpenter, construction worker, machine assembler or operator, production manager and electronics assembler. The outlook is good for careers in this field. Over the last year, there have been several reports of shortages of qualified auto mechanics, and reports that employers are starting to increase wages in response to the shortages. The type of work that some mechanics do is starting to change.