Career profile for Electronic Equipment Assembler

What does an Electronic Equipment Assembler do?

Electronic Equipment Assemblers assemble or modify electrical or electronic equipment, such as computers, test equipment telemetering systems, electric motors, and batteries.

What kind of tasks does an Electronic Equipment Assembler perform regularly?

Electronic Equipment Assemblers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Read and interpret schematic drawings, diagrams, blueprints, specifications, work orders, or reports to determine materials requirements or assembly instructions.
Assemble electrical or electronic systems or support structures and install components, units, subassemblies, wiring, or assembly casings, using rivets, bolts, soldering or micro-welding equipment.
Adjust, repair, or replace electrical or electronic components to correct defects and to ensure conformance to specifications.
Position, align, or adjust workpieces or electrical parts to facilitate wiring or assembly.
Explain assembly procedures or techniques to other workers.
Drill or tap holes in specified equipment locations to mount control units or to provide openings for elements, wiring, or instruments.
Clean parts, using cleaning solutions, air hoses, and cloths.
Fabricate or form parts, coils, or structures according to specifications, using drills, calipers, cutters, or saws.
Confer with supervisors or engineers to plan or review work activities or to resolve production problems.

The above responsibilities are specific to Electronic Equipment Assemblers. More generally, Electronic Equipment Assemblers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards		Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards

Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Handling and Moving Objects

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

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

What is an Electronic Equipment Assembler salary?

The median salary for an Electronic Equipment Assembler is $36,390, and the average salary is $38,750. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Electronic Equipment Assembler salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Electronic Equipment Assemblers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Electronic Equipment Assemblers earn less than $25,700 per year, 25% earn less than $29,660, 75% earn less than $45,700, and 90% earn less than $56,670.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Electronic Equipment Assemblers is expected to change by 6.9%, and there should be roughly 32,700 open positions for Electronic Equipment Assemblers every year.

Median annual salary: $36,390
Typical salary range: $25,700 - $56,670
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 6.9%

What personality traits are common among Electronic Equipment Assemblers?

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 Electronic Equipment Assembler are usually higher in their Realistic interests.

Electronic Equipment Assemblers 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.

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 Electronic Equipment Assembler tend to value Support, Relationships, and Independence.

Most importantly, Electronic Equipment Assemblers strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Electronic Equipment Assemblers moderately 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.

Lastly, Electronic Equipment Assemblers somewhat value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

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 Electronic Equipment Assemblers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and achievement/effort.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Electronic Equipment Assemblers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
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.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.

Attention to Detail

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

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.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

What education and training do Electronic Equipment Assemblers need?

Working as an Electronic Equipment Assembler usually requires a high school diploma.

Electronic Equipment Assemblers need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Electronic Equipment Assemblers

17.7% did not complete high school or secondary school
45.0% completed high school or secondary school
21.0% completed some college coursework
7.5% earned a Associate's degree
7.2% earned a Bachelor's degree
1.1% earned a Master's degree
0.5% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Electronic Equipment Assemblers

Electronic Equipment Assemblers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as production and processing, mechanical, or design knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Electronic Equipment Assemblers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Design		Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Production and Processing

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

Mechanical

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

Design

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Mathematics

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

Computers and Electronics

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

Important Abilities needed by Electronic Equipment Assemblers

Electronic Equipment Assemblers 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, Electronic Equipment Assemblers need abilities such as near vision, finger dexterity, and oral comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Electronic Equipment Assemblers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
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.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
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.
Manual Dexterity		The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Near Vision

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

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.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

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.

Manual Dexterity

The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Critical Skills needed by Electronic Equipment Assemblers

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.

Electronic Equipment Assemblers frequently use skills like reading comprehension, monitoring, and operations monitoring to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Electronic Equipment Assemblers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Operations Monitoring		Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Judgment and Decision Making		Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Monitoring

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

Operations Monitoring

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

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

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.

Career profile Electronic Equipment Assembler

Electronic Equipment Assembler

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