Career profile for Electromechanical Technician

What does an Electromechanical Technician do?

Electromechanical Technicians operate, test, maintain, or adjust unmanned, automated, servomechanical, or electromechanical equipment.

In addition, Electromechanical Technicians

may operate unmanned submarines, aircraft, or other equipment to observe or record visual information at sites such as oil rigs, crop fields, buildings, or for similar infrastructure, deep ocean exploration, or hazardous waste removal,
may assist engineers in testing and designing robotics equipment.

What kind of tasks does an Electromechanical Technician perform regularly?

Electromechanical Technicians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Test performance of electromechanical assemblies, using test instruments such as oscilloscopes, electronic voltmeters, or bridges.
Read blueprints, schematics, diagrams, or technical orders to determine methods and sequences of assembly.
Inspect parts for surface defects.
Install electrical or electronic parts and hardware in housings or assemblies, using soldering equipment and hand tools.
Verify part dimensions or clearances to ensure conformance to specifications, using precision measuring instruments.
Align, fit, or assemble component parts, using hand or power tools, fixtures, templates, or microscopes.

The above responsibilities are specific to Electromechanical Technicians. More generally, Electromechanical Technicians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment		Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.
Controlling Machines and Processes		Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Documenting/Recording Information		Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Repairing and Maintaining Electronic Equipment

Servicing, repairing, calibrating, regulating, fine-tuning, or testing machines, devices, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of electrical or electronic (not mechanical) principles.

Controlling Machines and Processes

Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

Documenting/Recording Information

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

What is an Electromechanical Technician salary?

The median salary for an Electromechanical Technician is $59,800, and the average salary is $62,800. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Electromechanical Technician salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Electromechanical Technicians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Electromechanical Technicians earn less than $37,350 per year, 25% earn less than $46,640, 75% earn less than $76,270, and 90% earn less than $95,340.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Electromechanical Technicians is expected to change by -2.2%, and there should be roughly 1,200 open positions for Electromechanical Technicians every year.

Median annual salary: $59,800
Typical salary range: $37,350 - $95,340
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): -2.2%

What personality traits are common among Electromechanical Technicians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as an Electromechanical Technician are usually higher in their Realistic, Investigative, and Conventional interests.

Electromechanical Technicians typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Electromechanical Technicians typically have strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Electromechanical Technicians typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as an Electromechanical Technician tend to value Relationships, Support, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Electromechanical Technicians strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Electromechanical Technicians strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Electromechanical Technicians moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Electromechanical Technicians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, initiative, and persistence.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Electromechanical Technicians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Initiative		Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Persistence		Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Achievement/Effort		Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Initiative

Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

Persistence

Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Achievement/Effort

Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

What education and training do Electromechanical Technicians need?

Electromechanical Technicians often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Electromechanical Technicians usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Electromechanical Technicians

4.1% did not complete high school or secondary school
24.3% completed high school or secondary school
30.7% completed some college coursework
20.1% earned a Associate's degree
17.2% earned a Bachelor's degree
2.9% earned a Master's degree
0.8% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Electromechanical Technicians

Electromechanical Technicians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as mechanical, computers and electronics, or engineering and technology knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Electromechanical Technicians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Engineering and Technology		Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Engineering and Technology

Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Important Abilities needed by Electromechanical Technicians

Electromechanical Technicians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Electromechanical Technicians need abilities such as control precision, arm-hand steadiness, and finger dexterity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Electromechanical Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Control Precision		The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Finger Dexterity		The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Control Precision

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Finger Dexterity

The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Critical Skills needed by Electromechanical Technicians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Electromechanical Technicians frequently use skills like operations monitoring, monitoring, and troubleshooting to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Electromechanical Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Operations Monitoring		Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Troubleshooting		Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Quality Control Analysis		Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Troubleshooting

Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Quality Control Analysis

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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Electromechanical Technician

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