How to get your 1st job as an Instrumentation & Electrical / Controls technician...
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- Опубліковано 17 лип 2022
- This video is a general discussion on tips to land the first job and your new career as an instrumentation technician.
I hope you enjoy the content and I wish all of you luck.
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Great video, reminded me that I need to go back to your previous video and talk to some folks in the comments. Solid advice for sure. Fortunately for me, it was where I got my electrical education from that was my ace in the hole. That, along with my experience in the oil and gas industry, is how I got my first gig starting in the early $30’s. Also for some who can’t get call backs, I would recommend ensuring that you stay pushing to network in the field. You can never know too many people out here who may or may not be working in the position you hope to get into.
Left my job when I decided to go back to school and became an electrician so that I could learn electrical during the day and instrumentation at night. After a year of doing commercial work I landed a control panel building gig. Been doing that for the last 2 years but learned a lot troubleshooting and commissioning/testing. Really beefed up my resume at the control panel gig. 2 months after getting my degree i just landed my first instrumentation and controls job. You gotta have a plan when you start school. The degree isn't always enough.
I hear you and agree. Ypur resume is probably a banger now though best of luck my friend
Thank you for these
This is helpful
The program that I went to in California had no internship opportunities despite saying that they would have them and I ended up getting a job at AT&T that was a huge mistake.
It’s been five years since my degree and I’m looking to get into the industry for real this time and I appreciate your video.
I’m gonna go back and talk to the people in my program.
Yeah dude you can do it I wish you the best of luck keep me posted let me know what you figure out
Great advice. That first job is crucial in establishing your career. Even if the first job is not necessarily right at the pay you were looking for once you get that experience companies are definitely very keen on having you. Building that network of people in the same field is handy too.
Thanks for the comment much appreciated. It seems like the market has not been affected that much by looming recession however that being said I haven't seen any really high paying jobs posted in a while
@@gregroche7323 I feel companies in general are a bit more cautious with number of hires. As more of a just in case protocol. But I do still see jobs popping up at least in Florida
Yeah it's kind of the same up here I guess it has slowed down just a little bit but there's still a lot of postings
GREAT VIDEOS ..I have Done Instrumentation and control technition 3 year Course In Pakistan..
Best video on how to enter this field i've seen so far.
Regarding your 4th point about amazon, it might have a reputation of being a hard place to work, but I totally agree with you. It's considered the leader/model of where industry is heading in terms of industrial automation (Industry 4.0). In the unlikely event, points 1 - 3 don't work, i'm sure some value/knowledge can gained from taking a peek inside an amazon warehouse/fulfillment center.
Thanks for making this video and looking forward to more content.
I appreciate the encouraging words my friend. I've never worked at Amazon but I did some research and I went through the interview process there and that plus the information I got from forums and stuff gave me that little bit, seems like they have things so standardized that they really don't need people with very high level of skill. Anyways I really appreciate the encouraging words I just want to reach out to people and let them know that this is an option because it worked well for me and it sounds like it's working well for you too
I got a job as an E&I maint tech after taking the company paid E&I class, not even halfway through the class and got promoted. Loving the trade so far!
Welcome to the club brother
@Greg Roche thanks man, a lot to learn but am highly motivated!
@@kingvegas3I'm sure you'll figure it out, best of luck
Nice Video 👍
Thanks brotha
I went to school for instrumentation but became an analyzer technician. Its a related field but much more intricate and finite work. Requires a lot of patience but overall I prefer it. It helps to know instrumentation/electrical to troubleshoot. Its also a secure job because there's even less analyzer techs than instrument techs. Once you get a year you basically have a job for life because you're always needed. It pays more on average too. Nice video.
How do you like doing that and what exactly is an analyzer technician everything someone asked me about that I really don't know what that means
Like there's definitely negatives to working in industrial maintenance. If you are like always running around and fixing things it wears on your body pretty quickly. Also, generally speaking it's hard to move up when you started an instrumentation and control technician because there's not really anything above it other than an engineer. A lot of companies want you to have a bachelor's degree to be an engineer so it's like you just kind of do the same job for your whole career
@Greg Roche An analyzer technician measures process component values. For example I use gas chromatographs to measure hydrocarbons. It can get complex but basically you have a detector, valves, and a sample system. You take a gas (propylene, ethylene, methane, propane etc) inject it and we use columns filled with specific material to "catch" these components. They stay suspended in the columns and come out as peaks on a chart (we call it a chromatogram). The length and material of the column, the weight of the component being measured, temperature, and pressure all affect your readings. The gases flow over a detector which translates to voltagr allowing us to see readings. We use gates and relays in a program to see our peaks. Basically we measure purity and quality of product at different points in the process. Flow, temperature, and pressure affect our instruments much like it would yours.
We also have other analyzers that can do water, liquids, caustic, H2S, and much more.
As for the maintenence part I like it because physically its pretty easy. Being outside can suck but usually our analyzers are in stable air conditioned environments (usually). A lot of them run in cycle times as well so there's a whele lot of sitting around waiting for results. The hardest thing I do is move around 6 packs of air bottles. The biggest tool I use is a 1 1/4 wrench. Most of my work is done with crescents and screwdrivers. It's a very technical but phsycially easy job. On average we get paid $2-10 more than instrument techs sometimes more.
I only did my degree in instrumentation and didn't do any analzyer classes.
@@JimmyTheProstitute well I learned something today that sounds pretty cool do you enjoy it or do you find it boring? How often do you troubleshoot doing that? I've had a few people ask me about that career path and didn't have any information to give them so I appreciate it
@Greg Roche Haha yeah I enjoy it but it has it's moments like any job. Every day I troubleshoot because something breaks. Our equipment is 30, 40, 50 years old. Hell I use fax machines and chart recorders daily. It's rewarding once you understand what you're doing.
Thanks you for information, but want to know about tube bender job wages, if you have some informations , thanks
I really don't know. I don't even know what tube bending means Are you talking about running electrical conduit or hydraulic lines? Regardless I have no idea
I'm not gonna lie I'm kinda scared, I've recently graduated last fall and I get doubts that I've made the wrong decision for my degree. I will admit I haven't put myself out there yet due to having a accident that ended in me breaking my knee, but now I'm healed and ready to put myself out there to start my young career although it is a bit tough this video help me out a ton thank you.
I hear you doesn't hurt to make a LinkedIn and send out some resumes. If you're having trouble with Mobility there's a lot of jobs where you just work in a lab
Depending on how your injuries healing up though I would take that into consideration specifically if you work in manufacturing there's a good chance they're going after walk a lot you might want to look at like water plants or pretty much anything other than Manufacturing if you're knee isn't totally healed yet
You want to know the crazy part about those low paying jobs in Southern California (LA/OC)? They are really trying to pay an electrical/automation technician with 5 years experience $22-25 an hour! With the amount of gas we use out here that turns out to be $18 an hour (I’m exaggerating obviously) but I’ve seen a lot for $22-25 an hour. It blows my mind. Jobs do not pay well out here compared to the cost of living. I’m definitely leaving to another state soon.
Yeah I'll be honest I see you jobs like that in Ohio once in awhile I don't know what's up with that it seems like the pay range is very wide. Another thing I've noticed is there are abs and flows sometimes there will be a lot of instrumentation jobs that are high-paying and good opportunities and then for a couple weeks or months there will just be a few so I don't know what's up with that but like I said in my other videos there's not a big pool of candidates and there are not a lot of jobs but the opportunities are definitely out there
I have graduated from Electromechanical Engineering Technology in 2018. I would like get in touch with you. Thank you
I am on LinkedIn and Facebook
Definitely the low hanging fruit !
I see more jobs gwtting posted and staying posted... I think they are all low hanging fruit at this point if you know controls
I graduated as an EE years ago but havent worked in controls. This year I started working on instrumentation but I want to expand my controls knowledge to where I can apply for controls engineer jobs.
ISA holds in person automation boot camps, but my company only covers college courses. Do any colleges or tech schools provide automation training programs?
That's a great question you just got to look... There is a Community College in my area that actually has certificates Associate's and bachelor's level industrial Robotics and automation programs. I would suggest looking into some sort of automation certificate. I know one of my co-workers for my last job did a motor controls certificate I guess he had a lot of troubleshooting experience with that one. There is stuff out there there's just not a lot most of the training is on-the-job honestly
I would say automation certificate from a community college if you can find one
Last bit of advice you already got the degree so really the only thing that matters is your knowledge there's nothing stopping you from taking Google courses and free online courses to understand different types of equipment and network communication. When you get to your interview that's what they're going to ask you about if you know what you're talking about then you got the job
@@gregroche7323 thanks so much!!
They are all over in Louisiana..
High paying jobs?
Or technicians
@@gregroche7323high paying…
I'm a electromechanical tech in the Midwest, making 30 bucks an hour.
what do they pay in Florida?
It's probably around the same usually 30 if you can get in with the power companies 40 or 50 cost of living is a little bit more down there but not much and it also depends a lot on where you're at in some places it's cheaper but yeah the wages Florida are pretty similar to the Midwest. I lived in South Florida for a couple years it was way too hot for me though
People now days fire you just graduated from school yet they expect to know everything now days need to be trainable
I don't know man I work at a big company and it took us a long ass time to fill our open Automation and electrical technician positions which is basically the same thing as instrumentation and electrical. I get a message approximately 5 days a week on LinkedIn to interview like at least in Cleveland Ohio the shortage of skilled workers in this is ridiculous
@@gregroche7323 probably depends on geographical location, but, yeah I’ve been struggling too I really want to go into this field it sounds so challenging. I even moved to a new state and interviews have increased but I’m also starting to decide to just settle. I’m now an operator which is similar to Technician but want to get to Engineer position the benefits for any Engineering position are simply amazing especially when comparing to labor or Technician jobs. Currently in the semiconductor industry but to me I would like to get into automation controls.
Do they also go up in airplanes and test there engines? I have no idea what degree but this one seems fun
No i was just referring to instrumentation in a lab/ installation setting as an example
There are definitely mechanics that work on airplanes and I believe they make a lot of money.. instrumentation and control technicians are usually more focused on sensors and automation
I recently finished electrician school and want to go into this field. Can I move up in a company as an electrician and get in instrumentation?
Definately,find a job that has controls or automation troubleshooting as part of the job, thats the 1st step
Definitely understand that being an electrician in new construction or residential is very different then instrumentation. If you are maintenance electrician or industrial electrician that's more similar there's a pretty wide range is what you could do as an electrician... you got kind of look at that versus what you want to do
The problem isn't that companies can't find employees, the problem is that companies aren't willing to train brand new apprentices
That is very true, specially in the U.S. with this career path. Fortunately there is a shortage of well versed maintenance personnel so it’s not too difficult finding a way to get a foot in the door
Just moved to Cleveland ohio, what was the company that you would say pay the best for Instrument tech?
You just have to look on linkedin there are a couple good ones listed right now. If you moved a few months ago I could have helped you get in at my company but we aren't hiring right now
Look up aytomayion jobs and instrumentation jobs on linkedin Im sure you can find one pretty quick. Marathon is hiring about an hour south they pay 100k plus I believe
@@gregroche7323 I have work here, I appreciate your kindness. I guess I’m trying to see what is normal here. I’m sure as you know, Ohio doesn’t have proper infrastructure for Instrumentation.
Normal vs best pay.
Yeah we Don't have a lot of heavy industrial stuff here it's mostly Manufacturing packaging stuff like That I would expect to be somewhere between 70 and 90 if you are experienced if you're pretty new in your career I would expect around 60
Do you have to buy your own tools?? if so which one
No generally not I've only interviewed for one job that wanted me to buy my own tools and I've probably been to 15 interviews or maybe even more total. Digital multimeter amp clamp are the basic tools but specific calibrations are going to need specific equipment and it can be extremely expensive. We're talking in the thousands or even tens of thousands for certain test equipment. If you're working for an operation that's big enough to have an instrumentation or automation technician position it's unlikely that they're going to even need you to buy your own tools cuz you're only going to have this position at pretty well established operations
Small Manufacturing plants and whatnot generally do not even have an instrumentation Tech on staff. If the company has let's say 50 or less employees that's about where they start to hire a tech rather than just Contracting it out. Maintenance technician positions do sometimes require you bring your own tools but that's like a step below instrumentation technician
I have a 2 year biomedical electronics degree but recently heard about this field and have become interested. Do you think this degree would transfer well?
Yeah I'm pretty sure it would usually with a degree you got to kind of get a buffer job in between. I don't think it would be worth it to go back to school you could probably land an electronics Tech job then work your way up to it. I would be more picky on the actual job duties, make sure you're getting exposure to controls Automation and instrumentation. Maintenance tech could be a good start they're always looking for people with electrical background so even if you don't have experience but you have some more electrical training that might put your resume towards the top of the list and usually maintenance tech job start around 55k in average paying regions. You never know though I best advice is get on LinkedIn and start direct messaging Recruiters in your area start applying for jobs you'll find something. Don't take the first thing that pops up though unless unless you feel like you're going to learn what you want to learn
It is hard to express the level of difficulties companies are having filling these positions at this time. It sounds like I'm exaggerating but I'm not ... my old job that I left last year is still open (2021)
@@gregroche7323 wow that’s insane, biomed is kinda the same. They are losing senior level employees via retirement and there is no one qualified to replace them. If they do replace them it’s with a junior level technician such as me. I actually have a years experience working in a hospital as a biomedical equipment technician from my apprenticeship. In no way am I an electrician but I do have some experience with electrical such as running 12x3 and wiring outlets and lights and switches ect… mainly residential stuff. I don’t know if that would help any or if you would still recommend looking for a buffer job with exposure to controls automation and instrumentation and more electrical.
No you definitely want to take whatever you can get I'm just saying that with only that biomed degree it could be tough. I'm really not sure I bet you can find something. You can find me on LinkedIn if you want I would be happy to provide you feedback on jobs you're interviewing for and stuff if you want to chat about it at any time I'm open to that. Most companies are looking for experienced technicians for instrumentation and electrical/automation/ controls tech jobs but they can't find them. Realistically though is this type of work going to pay more than your previous job?
I don't know what it's like applying for jobs without experience I know it's gotten easier over the years. I also know ever since I got my first job as a tech pretty much every job I've applied for since then I've been offered the job or at least 80%
How much do instrument techs usually make?
It really depends on what area you live in. Generally it's 32-45/ hr.
Also it should be noted that more often than not you will be giving the opportunity to work overtime if you want. If I had to guess I'd say the dead nuts average i&e technician in the Midwest makes $38 an hour and works 45hours a week making about 90,000 year... That's based off what I've seen. At first he'll probably make about 60 maybe 70
How do you get a job in this field with no experience my jobs so far have been in multiple industries like retail dishwashing warehouse work and working for the city weed whipping mowing and cleaning up the streets. I'm almost done with my electromechanical certificate so many people in my class have experience. How would i find a job in this field with no experience in manufacturing or automation.
I would say your best bet would be to start talking to recruiters... start calling recruiting firms in your area aka staffing agencies and find out if they have jobs you want. Make a profile on LinkedIn start searching for jobs and applying on LinkedIn... those are the first two steps. Did you do good in school? If you can't find automation jobs also apply for maintenance tech jobs that need people with electrical knowledge. A lot of maintenance tech jobs people with car mechanic experience... if you can find maintenance technician job with a handshake deal that you'll be an electrical specialist within maintenance that'll give you the experience you need to become a great automation or instrumentation technician
Usually Factory will have a few maintenance technician some of them are really good with their hands and working on mechanical things some of them are really good at troubleshooting electrical stuff and most places don't have that many people that are really good at troubleshooting electrical controls or instrumentation.. there's definitely a need out there you just need to talk to her right people
As far as compensation I would shoot for 30 an hour I'm the first job if they ask you what you want say 30 to 35 depending on how electrically based the job is.. if you live in a big city California bump those numbers up a little based on the wages in the area
Do you have any Nestle factory in your area start there trust me LOL
I was offered an instrument tech position at 30 an hour. Is this a decent offer or a lowball?
Is it your first job? What area do you live in. If you live in an area where wages are low or moderate and it's your first job I think that's a pretty good offer.
If you live in a area where wages are high and cost of living is high and it's your first job I still think it's a good offer, first job you got to take what you can get.
I live in NJ and this position is out in Texas. It’s an E-Tech position for oil and gas company. I’m looking to relocate to Texas.
That seems like a low ball for Texas to me if you actually want to live there go for it but if you want to move for a job I wouldn't do that personally you can find that deal where you're at
Oil jobs usually pay 40 plus
I have a computer science degree and I’m getting an interview for this position tomorrow at 43 an hour
Hell yeah good for you man I hope you can get it..... I would suggest brushing up a little bit on wiring schematics relays variable frequency drives plc's fuses things like that... That goes to show there is like a pretty big demand for instrumentation and electrical technicians and a lot of times companies will just hire people with related experience and training them on the job best of luck I hope you get it
@@gregroche7323 well I have experience as a maintenance tech and a hvac tech since that’s what I was working as when I was in college so I’m not sure if that also helped me but I probably will freshen up on those topics since I feel like those two roles aren’t directly related? Idk
@@stephenmartinez4883 oh yeah if you have maintenance technician experience plus a computer science degree year in there like swimwear baby
@@stephenmartinez4883 also I would suggest just looking at like some basic information on analog inputs generally factories use 4 to 20 milliamp scale or sometimes 0 to 10 volt but usually it's milliamps.. maybe look over the difference between a RTD and a thermocouple understand like pressure transmitters a little bit I don't know you should be fine though. At least where I'm at there's very little competition whenever I go to interviews there's usually like one or two other people that interview and they don't have any experience generally speaking
@@gregroche7323 yeah I can see that lmao I just found out about this role and have been applying and people have been calling me back hahaha but the maintenance stuff wasn’t too crazy, just some electrical stuff installing equipment calibrating equipment construction work some plumbing…small business so I did a bit of everything so idk if they’ll be please with that…
I was an operator for a good few years. Can I get into instrumentation without the degree ?
I'm not sure I would think so if you have the right skill set. I know nowadays you can get a job as a maintenance tech as long as you're good with your hands so it's not a huge long shot to think you could get a job as an instrument Tech without the degree but I'm not sure
If not I would think maintenance tech for a year or two then step up to a Electronics or instrumentation Tech would be a reasonable career path
@@gregroche7323 Thank you. I’ll get back into shift work if I have to but looking for a change.
I'm certain you could get a maintenance tech job at like a factory or something. They are both great careers in my opinion relatively low stress every day is different and people depend on / respect you at work
Most places are under staffed too so OT should be available. A little bit of OT goes a long way so you can make a really nice salary in a pretty low stress job. I really like the career path of instrumentation & see maint tech as a similar career with slightly lower pay and lower barrier to entry. My "favorite jobs" (even though I haven't personally done all of them) are 1. Controls engineering (with hamds on work of course) 2. IE tech 3. Maintenance tech
I just graduated from Automation and Instrumentation technology and I found a job. Is 50,000 a year a reasonable salary. I live in Vancouver BC Canada. Just 2 hrs away from Seattle Washington
What is the job title? If it is an instrumentation or automation job the salary doesn't matter in my opinion. I have seen a pretty steady growth in my salary as a gained experience. If the experience is relevant to what you wanna do I would just take the job and see where it takes you. I don't know the salaries or job market in your area. I live in Ohio and I&E jobs here are usually 55-95, the 1st job being the most difficult to land. My vote is to go for it, congratulations
I hope you get back to me let me know what the job title is you could also negotiate a little bit possibly
@@gregroche7323 Controls technologist at FPS food process solutions
The job is pretty much trouble shooting PLC ladder logic and the contribution to the development of new logic as well as travelling to sites and doing startups
Do you know how much percent of the time you'll be traveling? It sounds like awesome experience but if they wanted you to travel a whole lot I would definitely try to get a better wage
I worked for Amazon as a automation equipment. I got rejected for 2 years. Don't lie to anyone who thinks they will get this kind of jobs. Tell them they need to be electricians.
I had a 30 second interview at amazon. I passed the test he said he was too busy to interview me and offered me the job. 2 yrs experience at the time
For your information sir at least where I live if you know how to do control's work and have some knowledge of physics electrical theory and even a little bit of calibration experience you can literally Get like 10 Job offers at any given time I'm sorry if it's not like that in your area but in my area companies call me and if I apply they offer me the job not because I'm special but because no one does this
Iam an instrumentation technican in india how can i get this job in Europen country please replay
I'm not sure. I live in the United States I have met a decent number of instrument texts or Engineers that used to live in India I'm not sure what the process is of coming over here. In United States the best way to get a job is signing up for LinkedIn which is basically Facebook for jobs then connecting with a bunch of Recruiters in technical positions. Maybe you could start by doing that I'm not sure about the legal stuff as far as moving to another country
@@gregroche7323 can you do a video about this,
I have 6 year experience in gulf
its my request
How to indian instrumentation technican get a job in European country please
I can do that I'm going to have to research it and also I don't make videos very often so I'm not going to promise that I'll make one soon you should subscribe and turn on your notifications for my channel though so when I do you can see it
@@gregroche7323ok thanku
I farted, then I saw the trees blow behind you.
Don't even need a degree to be an Instrument tech. Plenty of non-degreed trade schools to learn through
I was thinking of do it is it worth it or should I do something else