How To Become A Substation Mechanic: What It Is and Career Path

What is a substation mechanic and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a substation mechanic. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.29 an hour? That's $40,125 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -1% and produce -1,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSubstation MechanicUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $40,125

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate -1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.55%

Asian 3.88%

Black or African American 5.54%

Hispanic or Latino 13.85%

Unknown 7.20%

White 68.98%

Gender

female 2.94%

male 97.06%

Age - 37

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a substation mechanic

Explore substation mechanic education requirements

Most common substation mechanic degrees

Bachelor's

38.5 %

High School Diploma

30.8 %

Diploma

23.1 %

Start to develop specific substation mechanic skills

Skills	Percentages
Transformers	26.05%
CDL	22.86%
Substation Equipment	18.16%
Switches	17.19%
Substation Maintenance	6.93%

Complete relevant substation mechanic training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New substation mechanics learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a substation mechanic based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real substation mechanic resumes.

Research substation mechanic duties and responsibilities

Document repairs, modifications and inspections in accordance with FAA requirements on both paper and in an automate maintenance information database.
Document repairs, modifications and inspections in accordance with FAA requirements on both paper and in an automate maintenance information database.

Prepare your substation mechanic resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your substation mechanic resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a substation mechanic resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable substation mechanic resume templates

Build a professional substation mechanic resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your substation mechanic resume.

Apply for substation mechanic jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a substation mechanic job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do substation mechanics rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Substation mechanic reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022

Pros

The day to day is awesome. You never know what you are going to be doing. Working for a small co-op. We are part of every aspect of the the substation. It’s not the same old thing every day. We do it all.

Cons

Being under staffed.

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019