Installation, Maintenance & Repair
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Also called: Electrical and Instrumentation Technician (E and I Technician), Electrical Technician, Instrument and Control Technician (I and C Technician), Instrumentation and Control Technician (I and C Technician)
US median pay
$103,020
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+9.7%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
1,800
20,900 employed
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Preparation 3/5 · Medium preparation
What this job is
Inspect, test, repair, or maintain electrical equipment in generating stations, substations, and in-service relays.
What they do day to day
- Inspect and test equipment and circuits to identify malfunctions or defects, using wiring diagrams and testing devices such as ohmmeters, voltmeters, or ammeters.
- Prepare and maintain records detailing tests, repairs, and maintenance.
- Consult manuals, schematics, wiring diagrams, and engineering personnel to troubleshoot and solve equipment problems and to determine optimum equipment functioning.
- Analyze test data to diagnose malfunctions, to determine performance characteristics of systems, or to evaluate effects of system modifications.
- Open and close switches to isolate defective relays, performing adjustments or repairs.
- Notify facility personnel of equipment shutdowns.
- Repair, replace, and clean equipment and components such as circuit breakers, brushes, and commutators.
- Run signal quality and connectivity tests for individual cables, and record results.
- Maintain inventories of spare parts for all equipment, requisitioning parts as necessary.
- Construct, test, maintain, and repair substation relay and control systems.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Repairing3.6/5
- Equipment Maintenance3.6/5
- Troubleshooting3.5/5
- Quality Control Analysis3.2/5
- Operations Monitoring3.2/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.1/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Systems Analysis3.0/5
Knowledge
- Mechanical4.3/5
- Mathematics3.9/5
- Engineering and Technology3.9/5
- Public Safety and Security3.9/5
- English Language3.8/5
- Design3.7/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 3 of 5 — Medium preparation. Usually vocational training, an associate's degree or an apprenticeship.
Typical entry education (BLS): Postsecondary nondegree award, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Post-secondary certificate50%
- Associate's degree28%
- Some college11%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.