1. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
The instrument and controls technician maintains, installs, and troubleshoots instrumentation, control circuits, and equipment. They are responsible for performing a variety of technical duties relating to the electrical, mechanical, instrumentation, and control functions of systems. You will also serve as a liaison to manufacturers, contractors, and other internal and external parties concerning utility equipment, instruments, and related systems. In addition, you will check job sites for potential hazards, understand and adhere to all applicable safety rules, regulations, practices, or procedures. Lastly, you will organize work assignments and set priorities.
You must know concepts, materials, and terminology related to utility systems. You must be able to operate, maintain, and repair utility systems equipment particularly electrical and mechanical equipment. Also, good knowledge of safe work methods and safety regulations of the work is required. The educational requirement for the post is at least a high school diploma and years of working experience. You will earn an average of $62,920 a year.
There are certain skills that many instrument and controls 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 color vision, communication skills and physical strength.
If you're interested in becoming an instrument and controls technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 24.7% of instrument and controls technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.0% of instrument and controls technicians have master's degrees. Even though some instrument and controls technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
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, an instrument and controls technician can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as maintenance supervisor, progress to a title such as supervisor and then eventually end up with the title plant manager.
What Am I Worth?
The role of an instrument and controls 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 instrument and controls technician responsibilities:
There are several types of instrument and controls technician, including:
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.
Wherever there is electricity, you will find an electronic technician. In places where there is lighting, heating, computers, machinery, or public transport, sooner or later they show up.
Electronic technicians know everything about circuits, amplifiers, resistors, switches, and regulators. They design electronic devices and components, maintain electronic systems, and install electrical equipment.
Choosing to be an electronic technician might be the best decision of your life. Electricity is magic, there is never enough of it. The amount of electricity used in the U.S. alone today is 13 times the quantity needed in 1950, and this tendency is not about to reverse anytime soon.
The average hourly pay of an electric technician is $21.31. You can do the math. If not, you might want to look for another profession, keep browsing those job posts.
If you've got a natural aptitude in technical applications and you enjoy the first crack at testing new products, you may be well-suited for the role of a test technician. Being a test technician, generally, your primary task is to analyze systems and conduct various performance and production-related tests on equipment and instruments used in the production area of a specific business.
In this position, you may assist the technical teams with recommendations to resolve the testing problems. Evaluating the products, machinery, and equipment malfunctions will be your primary duties. Usually, you may report your findings to engineers, supervisors, product developers, and other technical professionals.
Typically, you may work full-time, but overtime and weekend work may come in some cases to test and identify the recurring problems. Being a test technician, you may work in laboratories, factories, or even offices. The educational requirements for becoming a test technician may vary by employer. However, most employers require test technicians to have an associate's degree or diploma in science or engineering, while some may require a bachelor's degree in engineering or related discipline.
To be successful, you must have a keen eye for detail, the ability to read blueprints, and familiarity to calibrate and repair various testing equipment and tools. Monitoring and performing equipment maintenance, you may earn a median annual wage of $42,000 along with health insurance benefits, retirement coverage, vacation, sick time, and longtime bonuses.
Mouse over a state to see the number of active instrument and controls technician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where instrument and controls technicians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
---|---|---|---|
1 | California | 1,919 | $75,006 |
2 | Florida | 1,367 | $50,343 |
3 | Texas | 1,324 | $62,652 |
4 | Illinois | 1,021 | $59,595 |
5 | Georgia | 941 | $60,796 |
6 | New York | 940 | $73,586 |
7 | Virginia | 719 | $59,348 |
8 | North Carolina | 709 | $59,263 |
9 | Massachusetts | 661 | $75,151 |
10 | Pennsylvania | 655 | $59,933 |
11 | Michigan | 649 | $59,725 |
12 | Indiana | 624 | $62,299 |
13 | Ohio | 624 | $63,168 |
14 | Colorado | 551 | $63,249 |
15 | Wisconsin | 529 | $54,609 |
16 | New Jersey | 512 | $75,486 |
17 | Maryland | 476 | $78,705 |
18 | Minnesota | 461 | $59,087 |
19 | Arizona | 435 | $51,733 |
20 | Missouri | 407 | $59,697 |
21 | Washington | 399 | $69,474 |
22 | Tennessee | 376 | $49,822 |
23 | Alabama | 348 | $55,504 |
24 | Connecticut | 344 | $69,292 |
25 | South Carolina | 342 | $63,055 |
26 | Iowa | 317 | $65,592 |
27 | Kentucky | 286 | $53,632 |
28 | Utah | 260 | $50,976 |
29 | Kansas | 213 | $51,365 |
30 | Oregon | 210 | $69,674 |
31 | Louisiana | 201 | $57,920 |
32 | Oklahoma | 180 | $52,881 |
33 | Arkansas | 161 | $54,947 |
34 | Nevada | 156 | $62,126 |
35 | Nebraska | 136 | $49,764 |
36 | West Virginia | 126 | $60,761 |
37 | Maine | 126 | $53,597 |
38 | New Hampshire | 125 | $61,500 |
39 | Mississippi | 119 | $61,423 |
40 | Delaware | 117 | $71,542 |
41 | New Mexico | 117 | $61,273 |
42 | Hawaii | 84 | $75,703 |
43 | Idaho | 81 | $56,407 |
44 | Alaska | 77 | $69,491 |
45 | Montana | 71 | $57,801 |
46 | Vermont | 64 | $71,013 |
47 | South Dakota | 58 | $57,230 |
48 | Rhode Island | 57 | $66,716 |
49 | North Dakota | 47 | $56,032 |
50 | Wyoming | 23 | $61,762 |
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,832
Enrollment
4,550
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
Pomona, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,353
Enrollment
24,841
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,785
Enrollment
7,711
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
College Station, TX • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,870
Enrollment
53,194
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, 12.0% of instrument and controls technicians listed control systems on their resume, but soft skills such as color vision and communication skills are important as well.
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Instrument And Controls Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Instrument And Controls Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
1. Access Controls
Welcome to Access Controls! The Access Controls Course provides information pertaining to specify what users are permitted to do, the resources they are allowed to access, and what operations they are able to perform on a system. Access Controls help managers limit and monitor systems use at a user level or group membership. You will understand the different access control systems and how they should be implemented to protect the system and data using the different levels of confidentiality,...
2. Control Systems: From Mathematical Modelling to PID Control
Learn the mathematics that will allow you to model and control any engineering system. Make machines do what you want!...
3. Control Systems Made Simple Beginner's Guide
Learn fundamentals of Mechanical & electrical system modeling, simulation and control with this unique practical course!...
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an instrument and controls technician. The best states for people in this position are Maryland, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Instrument and controls technicians make the most in Maryland with an average salary of $78,705. Whereas in Hawaii and New Jersey, they would average $75,703 and $75,486, respectively. While instrument and controls technicians would only make an average of $75,151 in Massachusetts, 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. Delaware
$71,542
Avg. Salary
2. Vermont
$71,013
Avg. Salary
3. Maryland
$78,705
Avg. Salary
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Calpine | $86,319 | $41.50 | 10 |
2 | NRG Energy | $85,388 | $41.05 | 14 |
3 | Florida Power & Light | $75,172 | $36.14 | 13 |
4 | American Electric Power | $75,106 | $36.11 | 18 |
5 | Southern California Edison | $73,654 | $35.41 | 10 |
6 | Covanta | $72,553 | $34.88 | 16 |
7 | Entergy | $71,892 | $34.56 | 15 |
8 | Progress Energy | $70,455 | $33.87 | 9 |
9 | Exelon | $69,229 | $33.28 | 19 |
10 | Luminant | $69,005 | $33.18 | 10 |