Field Service Technicians may be employed by a number of different industries and companies. Their general task is to inspect and troubleshoot issues with equipment on-site, in various facilities. They install, repair, and maintain equipment, advise customers on the correct use of machinery, and conduct testing of machines and implement improvements.
Field service technicians travel to client locations, responding to service requests. They support customers who have issues with technical equipment by identifying the problem and performing troubleshooting.
They are expected to build good relationships with customers, as they represent their company on location, so being friendly and patient is just as important for a successful field service technician as scoring high in mechanical aptitude.
What is a Field Service Technician?
What Does a Field Service Technician Do
There are certain skills that many field service technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed dexterity, organizational skills and physical strength.
How To Become a Field Service Technician
If you're interested in becoming a field service technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 36.2% of field service technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.3% of field service technicians have master's degrees. Even though some field service technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Field Service Technician Job Description
Field Service Technician Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a field service technician can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as service manager, progress to a title such as general manager and then eventually end up with the title sales account manager.
Average Salary for a Field Service Technician
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Field Service Technician
The role of a field service technician includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general field service technician responsibilities:
- To service and perform preventative maintenance as required for automatic door operating equipment
- Provide tier i and ii support at remote field
- Basic troubleshooting, installation, maintenance and service repair needs on designated equipment. Completing preventative maintenance
There are several types of field service technician, including:
Technician
Role:
To be a technician, you have to know your stuff. Some may refer to you as an expert in your field or maybe people will know you as skilled in an art or craft. Then again, you may just be needed to look after technical equipment.
Your workload as a technician will vary, depending on what you're trained in. You may be needed to set up a new computer system or maybe you'll need to fix an electricity problem. Either way, you'll probably only need to work 40 hours a week.
The degree of education required for this job depends on what you're specific skillset is. Some technicians only need a high school diploma, others may want to complete an associate's program or earn a certificate to help their employment opportunities. There's definitely something for everyone in the field of technicians.
- Average Salary: $38,045
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Maintenance Technician
Role:
A maintenance technician mainly focuses their time on making repairs to equipment and property structures. When the HVAC unit stops working on the hottest day of the year, the maintenance technicians are the ones who will be called on to save the day.
Generally, maintenance technicians only need a high school diploma to get by in their career, although higher positions in the maintenance technician field may require a two-year program of some sort.
You know how we said that maintenance technicians may be called upon in emergency situations? Well, that may mean you'll be working outside of your normal hours. For the most part, you'll work a normal, full-time schedule. But emergencies may get you out of bed or interrupt your weekend. Just be prepared for those emergencies.
- Average Salary: $43,293
- Degree: High School Diploma
Service Technician
Role:
As a service technician, you'll be coming home with a lot of grease on your hands. Unless, of course, you wash your hands before leaving work. Guess where all that grease comes from. Vehicles! That's right, you'll be inspecting and repairing cars, left and right.
Generally, you'll be working in a well-ventilated, well-lit garage of some sort. You'll need to be familiar with automotive issues in a car's computer system, such as figuring out why the check engine light is on. And you'll probably need to know how to change a tire or change the oil. But we're not telling you how to do your job.
Instead of getting your training from us, you should complete a program from a postsecondary institution. Again, not telling you what to do but rather what employers like to see. Once you have the job, you may need to go a step further by becoming certified.
- Average Salary: $40,379
- Degree: Associate Degree
States With The Most Field Service Technician Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active field service technician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where field service technicians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Field Service Technician Jobs By State
Top Skills For a Field Service Technician
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 19.1% of field service technicians listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as dexterity and organizational skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Field Service Technician Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Field Service Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Field Service Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Field Service Technician diversity
Field Service Technician Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among field service technicians, 7.7% of them are women, while 92.3% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among field service technicians is White, which makes up 72.2% of all field service technicians.
- The most common foreign language among field service technicians is Spanish at 56.5%.
Online Courses For Field Service Technician That You May Like
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There are a growing number of exciting, well-paying jobs in today’s tech industry that do not require a traditional college degree, an one of the hottest areas with high demand is in IT customer service and support. Customer Service is a perfect entry point to start your career in IT, with a multitude of job openings ranging from onsite or remote help desk work to customer care or client support. We can help you get there with the Customer Service Fundamentals course. We will help you to build...
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Best States For a Field Service Technician
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a field service technician. The best states for people in this position are California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Idaho. Field service technicians make the most in California with an average salary of $66,734. Whereas in Connecticut and New Jersey, they would average $66,418 and $65,407, respectively. While field service technicians would only make an average of $64,593 in Idaho, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Nevada
$62,400
Avg. Salary
2. Connecticut
$66,418
Avg. Salary
3. Arizona
$60,641
Avg. Salary
How Do Field Service Technicians Rate Their Jobs?
Top Field Service Technician Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ field service technicians and discovered their number of field service technician opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that DISH Network was the best, especially with an average salary of $47,026. Xerox follows up with an average salary of $44,659, and then comes Siemens with an average of $83,924. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a field service technician. The employers include Accuray, Cepheid, and General Electric
Most Common Employers For Field Service Technician
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Siemens | $83,924 | $40.35 | 529 |
| 2 | IBM | $78,842 | $37.90 | 238 |
| 3 | RemX | $77,644 | $37.33 | 319 |
| 4 | NOV | $61,919 | $29.77 | 359 |
| 5 | General Electric | $59,158 | $28.44 | 485 |
| 6 | Tokyo Electron US | $57,684 | $27.73 | 219 |
| 7 | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | $57,406 | $27.60 | 337 |
| 8 | DC Group | $56,302 | $27.07 | 259 |
| 9 | Bradley-Morris | $54,292 | $26.10 | 299 |
| 10 | General Dynamics | $54,066 | $25.99 | 276 |
Field Service Technician Videos
Becoming a Field Service Technician FAQs
How Long Does It Take To Become A Field Service Technician?
It takes 7 years of professional experience to become a field service technician. That is the time it takes to learn specific field service technician skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.
How Much Does A Field Service Technician Make?
A field service technician makes about $33,000 a year. Those in the lower percentiles and entry-level positions only make around $25,000 a year. Alternately, the top percentiles and experienced people in the field can have an average salary of $45,000.
How Much Does A Field Tech Make?
A field tech makes between $25,000 and $45,000 annually. The median for this position is around $30,000. These numbers can vary depending on location, industry, and experience level.
For example, experienced field tech employees in California working for a technology company will make a higher average salary than an entry-level field tech employee living in Alabama and working for a utility company.
Is Field Service Technician A Good Job?
Yes, field service technician is a good job. Whether it is a good job for you depends on your individual strengths and expectations for your career path. For example, a career as a field service technician is vanishingly unlikely to provide a six-figure salary.
What Does Field Technician Mean?
A field technician means a professional who provides the programming, maintenance, and repairs to various telecommunications systems, equipment, cabling, and other related systems and equipment at all locations within the assigned work region.
What Qualifications Do You Need To Be A Technician?
The qualifications needed to become a technician are, at minimum, a high school diploma or equivalent and certification. Additional education and experience may be required and are typically desirable.