Photo: Chris.rider81 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Job description
Using hand and power tools along with testing instruments like resistance meters and oscilloscopes, technicians track down circuit and component faults, then service or replace whatever's failing. The job includes physical installation work too, such as mounting and wiring speakers to consoles, and a fair amount of customer interaction: explaining what's wrong, walking someone through proper use of new equipment, and deciding whether a repair can happen on-site or needs to go back to the shop. Vocational training, an apprenticeship, or an associate's degree is the typical path in.
Pros
- Faster than average projected job growth at 6.6% over the next decade
- Vocational training or apprenticeship gets you started without a four-year degree
- Frequent direct customer interaction for those who like troubleshooting and explaining fixes
Cons
- Only about 2,600 positions nationwide, limiting where the work is available
- Constant driving between customer homes and job sites throughout the shift
- Top pay tops out around $84k even with years of experience
A typical day
The van is loaded by 7:30 for a conference-room build-out: mounting two displays dead level, snaking HDMI and network runs through ceiling tile, terminating cables at a rack that gets wired to a diagram and dressed like it will be photographed. Late morning is programming — touch panel scenes so a teacher or executive can run the room with one button — then commissioning: testing every source, every input, every volume ramp. The afternoon service call is diagnosis work: a video wall with one dead panel, traced with a meter and a process of elimination to a failed cable, not the panel everyone suspected. Ladders, logic, and clean handiwork all day.
Tasks at the job
- Install, service, and repair electronic equipment or instruments such as televisions, radios, and videocassette recorders.
- Calibrate and test equipment, and locate circuit and component faults, using hand and power tools and measuring and testing instruments such as resistance meters and oscilloscopes.
- Confer with customers to determine the nature of problems or to explain repairs.
- Position or mount speakers, and wire speakers to consoles.
- Instruct customers on the safe and proper use of equipment.
- Make service calls to repair units in customers' homes, or return units to shops for major repairs.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens mostly inside a vehicle or piece of equipment, and most of the day is spent on your feet. The role involves regular exposure to contaminants.
There's a regular, moderate amount of time pressure, and you're expected to exercise significant independent judgment day to day.
Education necessary or common
Vocational training, apprenticeship, or associate's degree
Common college majors
Licenses & certifications
- AVIXA CTS (then CTS-I for installation)
- Low-voltage license (state-dependent)
- OSHA 10
- Manufacturer certifications (Crestron, Extron — employer-sponsored)
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- Electronics or Electricity courses if offered — the core knowledge
- Physics — signal, power, and mounting loads
- Shop / Construction Tech — installation is finish carpentry's cousin
- Computer networking basics (any CS or IT course)
- Geometry
Clubs, activities & competitions
- Theater tech crew — live AV systems experience
- SkillsUSA — electronics and audio/video competitions
- Robotics team wiring roles
- AV/broadcast club running school systems
First steps you can take now
- Learn to terminate an Ethernet cable correctly and test it — a genuinely employable micro-skill
- Mount a TV properly (studs, level, cable management) under supervision
- Volunteer to maintain your school's projectors and sound systems with the facilities or theater staff
- Study for the free entry levels of Dante or AVIXA online training
