Photo: MTA Capital Construction Mega Projects (CC BY 2.0)
Job description
After an operator reports an issue, the technician tests the unit with diagnostic equipment to isolate the cause, and if the fix is beyond what the shop can handle, sends the unit out to the manufacturer or a specialty repair shop instead. Beyond straightforward repairs, some technicians also build or modify industrial electronic devices to a given specification. The job carries an advisory side too: technicians report back to management on product performance and customer satisfaction, and keep detailed logs of every repair, calibration, and test for maintenance history.
Pros
- Strong pay ceiling, up to $105.6k, with vocational training or an associate's degree as entry
- Varied technical work spanning diagnosis, repair, and even device modification
- Indoor, climate-controlled work setting compared to many industrial repair trades
Cons
- Job growth projected to shrink slightly (-0.8%) over the next decade
- Precision and accuracy are essential when diagnosing complex industrial control systems
- Regularly dealing with frustrated equipment operators and managers when systems go down
A typical day
The work order says the packaging line's controller is "acting up," and the first diagnostic tool is a conversation: the repairer talks to the operator who runs it daily and learns the fault only happens on the second shift — which smells like temperature, not electronics. The scope and meter confirm it: a transmitter drifting as the plant warms. The fix is a recalibration and a recommendation upstream. That rhythm repeats across the day in different keys: a variable-frequency drive throwing codes (a failing cooling fan, caught before the drive cooked), an instrument panel modified to a new spec, and a defective unit boxed for the manufacturer because some repairs belong to the factory. Notes go into every ticket — symptoms, cause, fix — because the plant's repair history is a diagnostic tool in itself. Management gets the honest quarterly summary: which machines to keep, which to retire.
Tasks at the job
- Examine work orders and converse with equipment operators to detect equipment problems and to ascertain whether mechanical or human errors contributed to the problems.
- Develop or modify industrial electronic devices, circuits, or equipment, according to available specifications.
- Advise management regarding customer satisfaction, product performance, or suggestions for product improvements.
- Send defective units to the manufacturer or to a specialized repair shop for repair.
- Test faulty equipment to diagnose malfunctions, using test equipment or software, and applying knowledge of the functional operation of electronic units and systems.
- Maintain equipment logs that record performance problems, repairs, calibrations, or tests.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens indoors in a climate-controlled setting. Noise levels can be distracting or uncomfortable. The role involves regular exposure to hazardous equipment or conditions and contaminants, and standard protective equipment (gloves, safety glasses, and similar) is expected.
You're expected to exercise significant independent judgment day to day. Precision and accuracy are essential to the work, and the work is highly structured, following set procedures. You'll regularly deal with frustrated or upset people as part of the job.
Education necessary or common
Vocational training, apprenticeship, or associate's degree
Licenses & certifications
- CET (Certified Electronics Technician)
- ISA Certified Control Systems Technician (CCST, later)
- OSHA 10
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- Electronics/Electricity — the daily language
- Physics — electrical and thermal behavior both matter
- Shop/Industrial Tech — mechanical-versus-electrical judgment
- Algebra II — circuit and calibration math
- AP Computer Science Principles — modern controls are computers
Clubs, activities & competitions
- SkillsUSA industrial electronics competitions
- FIRST Robotics — troubleshooting under time pressure
- Repair hobby bench — fix anything broken you can find
- Amateur radio club
First steps you can take now
- Learn systematic troubleshooting: halve the problem, test, halve again
- Get comfortable with a multimeter and learn what a PLC is
- Tour a manufacturing plant and ask who fixes the machines
- Look up industrial maintenance or electronics technology programs nearby
