I'm not exactly sure what kind of repair you're looking at for your brick work, but the one thing that you might want to tackle (as a homeowner) is what is known as tuck-pointing (if your brickwork is older than 1930, you should definitely call in an experienced mason - brickwork changed a lot in the 30s). It's basically patching up the mortar in between the bricks. It's not easy work, and getting the mortar colors to match may be a problem, but if you don't have a lot of it to do, it's not too bad. When I bought my home last year, there was quite a bit that needed to be done, so I got in touch w/ a couple of masons and had it done it about a day and a half (would've taken me most of the summer). Here's a couple of links...
This Old House article (gives pretty good info about homes built prior to 1930 and the little "extras" to keep in mind)
Quickrete website (full-on step-by-step)