rapidly while electronic home entertainment equipment repairer and telephone installer and repairer jobs should decline.

Nature of the Work

Electronic equipment repairers, also called service technicians or field service representatives, install, maintain, and repair electronic equipment used in offices, factories, homes, hospitals, aircraft, and other places. Equipment includes televisions, radar, industrial equipment controls, computers, telephone systems, and medical diagnosing equipment. Repairers have numerous job titles, which often refer to the kind of equipment with which they work. (Electronics technicians, who use the principles and theories of science, engineering, and mathematics in their work, but may also do some repairs, are discussed in the statement on engineering technicians elsewhere in the Handbook. For information on workers who operate and maintain electronic equipment used to record and transmit radio and television programs, see the statement on broadcast technicians. Additional information about electronic equipment repairers is given in the separate statements in this section.)

Electronic repairers install, test, repair, and calibrate equipment to ensure it functions properly. They keep detailed records on each piece of equipment to provide a history of tests, performance problems, and repairs.

When equipment breaks down, repairers first examine work orders, which indicate problems, or talk to equipment operators. Then they check for common causes of trouble, such as loose connections or obviously defective components. If routine checks do not locate the trouble, repairers may refer to schematics and manufacturers' specifications that show connections and provide instruction on how to locate problems. They use voltmeters, ohmmeters, signal generators, ammeters, and oscilloscopes, and run diagnostic programs to pinpoint malfunctions. It may take several hours to locate a problem, but only a few minutes to fix it. However, more equipment now has self-diagnosing features, which greatly simplifies the work. To fix equipment, repairers may replace defective components, circuit boards, or wiring, or adjust and calibrate equipment, using test equipment, small handtools such as pliers, screwdrivers, and soldering irons.

Field repairers visit worksites in their assigned area on a regular basis to do preventive maintenance according to manufacturers' recommended schedules and whenever emergencies arise. During these calls, repairers may also advise customers on how to use equipment more efficiently and how to spot problems in their early stages. They also listen to customers' complaints and answer questions, promoting customer satisfaction and good will. Some field repairers work full time with a lot of equipment at the clients' establishment.

Bench repairers work at repair facilities, in stores, factories, or service centers. They repair portable equipment-such as televisions and personal computers brought in by customers-or defective components and machines requiring extensive repairs that have been sent in by field repairers. They determine the source of a problem in the equipment, and may estimate whether it is wiser to buy a new part or machine, or to fix the broken one.

Working Conditions

Some electronic equipment repairers work shifts, including weekends and holidays, to service equipment in computer centers, manufacturing plants, hospitals, and telephone companies operating round the clock. Shifts are generally assigned on the basis of seniority. Repairers may also be on call at any time to handle equipment failure.

Repairers generally work in clean, well-lighted, air-conditioned surroundings-an electronic repair shop or service center, hospital, military installation, or a telephone company's central office. However, some, such as commercial and industrial electronic equipment repairers, may be exposed to heat, grease, and noise on factory floors. Some may occasionally have to work in cramped spaces. Telephone installers and repairers may work on rooftops, ladders, and telephone poles.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement Most employers prefer applicants with formal training in electronics. Electronic training is offered by public post secondary vocationaltechnical schools, private vocational schools and technical institutes, junior and community colleges, and some high schools and correspondence schools. Programs take 1 to 2 years. The military services also offer formal training and work experience.

Training includes general courses in mathematics, physics, electricity, electronics, schematic reading, and troubleshooting. Students also choose courses which prepare them for a specialty, such as computers, commercial and industrial equipment, or home entertainment equipment. A few repairers complete formal apprenticeship programs sponsored jointly by employers and local chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Applicants for entry-level jobs may have to pass tests measuring mechanical aptitude, knowledge of electricity or electronics, manual dexterity, and general intelligence. Newly hired repairers, even those with formal training, usually receive some training from their employer. They may study electronics and circuit theory and math. They also get hands-on experience with equipment, doing basic maintenance and using diagnostic programs to locate malfunctions. Training may be in a classroom or it may be self-instruction, consisting of videotapes, programmed computer software, or workbooks that allow trainees to learn at their own pace.

Experienced technicians attend training sessions and read manuals to keep up with design changes and revised service procedures. Many technicians also take advanced training in a particular system or type of repair.

Good eyesight and color vision are needed to inspect and work on small, delicate parts and good hearing to detect malfunctions revealed by sound. Because field repairers usually handle jobs alone, they must be able to work without close supervision. For those who have frequent contact with customers, a pleasant personality, neat appearance, and good communications skills are important. Repairers must also be trustworthy, because they may be exposed to money and other valuables in places such as banks and securities offices, and some employers require that they be bonded. A security clearance may be required for technicians who repair equipment or service machines in areas in which people are engaged in activities related to national security.

The International Society of Certified Electronics Technicians and the Electronics Technicians Association each administer a voluntary certification program. In both, an electronics repairer with 4 years of experience may become a Certified Electronics Technician. Certification, which is by examination, is offered in computer, radio-TV, industrial and commercial equipment, audio, avionics, wireless communications, video distribution, satellite, and radar systems repair. An Associate Level Test, covering basic electronics, is offered for students or repairers with less than 4 years of experience. An A+

certification is now desired for computer technicians. This certification is awarded by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) and requires knowledge of specific products manufactured by the vendor. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 eliminated the requirement of an FCC license for those who repair radio transmitting equipment.

Experienced repairers with advanced training may become specialists or troubleshooters who help other repairers diagnose difficult problems, or work with engineers in designing equipment and developing maintenance procedures.

Because of their familiarity with equipment, repairers are particularly well qualified to become manufacturers' sales workers. Workers with leadership ability also may become maintenance supervisors or service managers. Some experienced workers open their own repair services or shops, or become wholesalers or retailers of electronic equipment.

Job Outlook

Overall, employment of electronic equipment repairers is expected to grow slower than the average for all occupations through the year 2006. Although the amount of electronic equipment in use will grow very rapidly, improvements in product reliability and ease of service and lower equipment prices will dampen the need for repairers. The following tabulation presents the expected job change, in percent, for the various electronic equipment repairer occupations:

Computer and office machine repairers.

37

Employment of computer equipment repairers will grow much faster the than average for all occupations through the year 2006 as the number of computers in service increases rapidly. Employment of commercial and industrial equipment repairers outside the Federal Government will increase faster than the average as the amount of equipment grows. Mainly because of cuts in the defense budget, their employment in the Federal Government will decline. Employment of those who repair electronic home entertainment equipment will decline as equipment becomes more reliable and easier to service. Telephone installer jobs are expected to decline sharply, and communication equipment mechanics are expected to grow slower than the average because of improvements in the telephone equipment reliability, ease of maintenance, and low equipment replace

Central office installers, central office technicians, PBX installers, and telephone installers and repairers employed by AT&T and the Bell Operating Companies and represented by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, earned between $279 and $962 a week in 1996.

According to a survey of workplaces in 160 metropolitan areas, beginning maintenance electronics technicians had median earnings of $11.50 an hour in 1995, with the middle half earning between $10.50 and $13.25 an hour. The most experienced repairers had me

Commercial and Industrial Electronic
Equipment Repairers

(D.O.T. 726.361-022, .381-014, .684-090; 828.251-010, .261-014, -022, -026, and 281-022)

Nature of the Work

Commercial and industrial electronic equipment repairers, also called industrial electronics technicians, install and repair industrial controls, radar and missile control systems, medical diagnostic equipment, and communications equipment.

Those who work for the Defense Department install radar, missile control, and communication systems on aircraft, ships, and tanks, and in buildings and other structures. Some set up and service electronic equipment which controls machines and production processes in factories. They often coordinate their efforts with workers installing mechanical or electromechanical components. (See the statements on industrial machinery repairers and millwrights elsewhere in the Handbook.)

Employment

Commercial and industrial electronic equipment repairers held about 60,000 jobs in 1996. About 1 out of 4 repairers was employed by the Federal Government, almost all in the Department of Defense at military installations around the country. Repairers were also employed by electronic and transportation equipment manufacturers, machinery and equipment wholesalers, telephone companies, hospitals, electronic repair shops, and firms that provide maintenance under contract (called third-party maintenance firms).

Job Outlook

Overall employment of commercial and industrial electronic equipment repairers is expected to increase about as fast as the average the average for all occupations through the year 2006. Job prospects in private industry, however, should differ significantly from those within the Federal Government. Opportunities for employment outside of the Federal Government are expected to be good. Employment in nongovernment industries is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations, as business and industrial firms install more electronic equipment to boost productivity and improve product

Job opportunities are expected to be good for commercial and industrial electronic equipment repairers outside the Federal Govern

ment.

quality. In addition, more electronic equipment will be used in energy conservation and pollution control. Because of cuts in the defense budget, however, employment in the Federal Government is expected to decline significantly.

(See the introductory part of this section for information on working conditions, training requirements, earnings, and sources of additional information.)

PBX installers, also called systems technicians, install complex telephone equipment, often creating customized switching systems.

PBX repairers, with the assistance of maintenance administrators, locate the malfunction in customers' PBX or other telephone systems and make the necessary repairs. They also maintain associated equipment such as batteries, relays, and power supplies. Some PBX repairers maintain and repair equipment for mobile radiophones, microwave transmission equipment, switching equipment, and data processing equipment.

An increasing number of communications equipment repairers in the telephone industry are being trained to perform multiple tasks, ranging from splicing fiber optic cable, to programming switches, to installing telephones. As a result, the specific titles used above are becoming less common.

Radio repairers and mechanics install and repair stationary and mobile radio transmitting and receiving equipment. Some repair microwave and fiber optics installations. Office electricians handle submarine cable repeater and terminal circuits and related equipment. When trouble arises, they may rearrange cable connections to ensure that service is not interrupted. Submarine cable equipment technicians repair, adjust, and maintain the machines and equipment used in submarine cable offices or stations to control cable traffic.

Other communications equipment mechanics include instrument repairers, sometimes referred to as shop repairers or shop technicians, who repair, test, and modify a variety of communications equipment. Data communications technicians install and repair data communications lines and equipment for computer systems. They connect microcomputers or terminals to data communication lines.

Communications Equipment Mechanics

(D.O.T. 722.281; 726.381-014; 822.261-010, 281-010, -014, -022, -026, -030 and -034, 361-014, .381-010, -018, -022, and .684-010; 823.261-010, -018, -022, and -030, .281-014, and -022; 825.261-010; and 829.281-022)

Nature of the Work

Installing, repairing, and maintaining complex and sophisticated telephone communications equipment are the responsibilities of communications equipment mechanics. Most communications equipment mechanics-sometimes referred to as telecommunication technicians-work either in telephone company central offices or on customers' premises installing and repairing telephone switching and transmission systems.

Central office equipment installers, or equipment installation technicians, set up, rearrange, and remove the switching and dialing equipment used in central offices. They install equipment in new central offices, add equipment in expanding offices, or replace outdated equipment. Central office repairers, often referred to as central office technicians or switching equipment technicians, test, repair, and maintain all types of local and toll switching equipment that automatically connects lines when customers dial numbers. When customers report trouble with their telephones, maintenance administrators find the source of the problem. Their jobs are largely automated; they enter instructions into a computer terminal and analyze the output. Maintenance administrators also update and maintain computerized files of trouble status reports. Trouble locators who work for cable television companies ensure that subscribers' television sets receive the proper signal. They may work with cable installers to track down the cause of the interference and make repairs.

Most communications equipment mechanics work for telephone companies.

Employment

Communications equipment mechanics held about 116,000 jobs in 1996. Most worked for telephone companies. Others worked for electrical repair shops, cable television firms, railroads, air transportation, and the Federal Government.

Job Outlook

Employment of communications equipment mechanics is expected to grow more slowly than the average through the year 2006 as communications equipment in use increases with population growth, but requires less frequent service. The telephone industry has almost completed a dramatic transformation from an electromechanical system to a completely electronic one. Digital systems, the most recent version of electronic switching, use computers and software to switch calls. Fewer workers are needed for maintenance and repair because the new systems are more reliable and compact, and permit more efficient, centralized maintenance. In addition, the systems have selfdiagnosing features which detect the source of problems and direct repairers to the defective part, which usually can simply be replaced. Once the transformation of the system has been completed, some time before 2006, the need for installers will drop.

Decreased labor requirements due to improved technology have already caused some layoffs of communications equipment mechanics. Efficiencies resulting from consolidations and mergers of cable and telephone companies and pressure to reduce costs in the competitive environment following additional deregulation of the industry could cause further decreases in employment. Competition for available openings should intensify, making it much more difficult for other telephone workers to move into these positions without experience or formal training, and virtually impossible for "outsiders" without the necessary skills to compete for jobs.

(See introductory part of this section for information on working conditions, training requirements, earnings, and sources of additional information.)

Computer and Office Machine Repairers

(D.O.T. 633.261-014, 281; 706.381-010 and -030)

Nature of the Work

Computer and office machine repairers install equipment, do preventive maintenance, and correct problems. Computer repairers work on computers (mainframes, minis, and micros), peripheral equipment, and word processing systems, while office machine repairers work on photocopiers, cash registers, mail processing equipment, fax machines, and typewriters. Some repairers service both computer and office equipment. They also make cable and wiring connections when installing equipment, and work closely with electricians who install the wiring. (A description of the work of electricians can be found elsewhere in the Handbook.)

Even with preventive maintenance, computers and other machines break down. Repairers run diagnostic programs to locate malfunctions. Although some of the most modern and sophisticated computers have a self-diagnosing capacity that identifies problems, computer repairers must know enough about systems software to determine if the malfunction is in the hardware or in the software.

Employment

Computer and office machine repairers held about 141,000 jobs in 1996. Approximately 80,000 worked mainly on computer equipment, and the other 61,000 repaired mainly office machines. About 3 of every 5 were employed by wholesalers of computers and other office equipment, including the wholesaling divisions of equipment manufacturers, and by firms that provide maintenance services for a fee. Others worked for retail establishments and some with organizations that serviced their own equipment.

Employment of computer and office machine repairers is expected to grow much faster than average.

Repairers work throughout the country, even in relatively small communities. Most repairers, however, work in large cities, where computer and office equipment is concentrated.

Job Outlook

Employment of computer and office machine repairers is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2006. However, employment of repairers will grow less rapidly than the anticipated increase in the amount of equipment because of the improved reliability of computer and office machines and ease of repair. Applicants for computer repairer positions will have the most favorable job prospects.

Employment of those who repair computers is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations. Demand for computer repairers will increase as the amount of computer equipment increases organizations throughout the economy should continue to automate in search of greater productivity and improved service. The development of new computer applications and lower computer prices will also spur demand. More repairers will be needed to install new equipment coming on the market and upgrade existing systems.

Employment of those who repair office machines is expected to grow about as fast the average for all occupations. Slower growth in the amount of non-computer-based office equipment will somewhat dampen the demand for these repairers.

(See introductory part of this section for information on working conditions, training requirements, earnings, and sources of additional information.)

Electronic Home Entertainment Equipment Repairers

(D.O.T. 720.281, 729.281-010, 730.281-018, 823.361-010, and 828.261-010)

Nature of the Work

Electronic home entertainment equipment repairers, also called service technicians, repairaudio systems, televisions,, disc players, recorders, public address systems, video cameras, video games, home security systems, microwave ovens, and electronic organs. Some repairers specialize in one kind of equipment; others repair many types.

They replace faulty parts or make adjustments, such as focusing and converging the picture of a television set, orsetting up the balance of a surround sound audio system. They may also make recordings of test patterns to detect problems in an 8mmvideo camera. Some install and repair automobilesound systems.

Employment

Electronic home entertainment equipment repairers held about 33,000 jobs in 1996. Most repairers work in electronic repair shops and service centers, or in stores that sell and service electronic home entertainment products. Employment is distributed in much the same way as the population. About 1out of 7 electronic home entertainment equipment repairers was self employed.

Job Outlook

Employment of electronic home entertainment equipment repairers is expected to decline through the year 2006. Improvements in reliability and ease of servicing should reduce service requirements even though the amount of equipment in use is expected to increase. Also, some of the home entertainment equipment is cheap enough to replace rather than repair. Nevertheless, opportunities should be good, due to the need to replace the many electronic home entertainment equipment repairers who transfer to higher paying occupations requiring a knowledge of electronics, such as computer and office machine repairer. (See introductory part of this section for information on working conditions, training requirements, earnings, and sources of additional information.)

Telephone Installers and Repairers

(D.O.T. 822.261-022 and 281-018)

Nature of the Work

Telephone installers and repairers install, service, and repair telephones and other telecommunications systems on customers' property. When customers move or request new types of service, installers relocate telephones or make changes to existing equipment. In buildings under construction, they install wiring and telephone jacks.

Telephone installers-sometimes called station installers, service technicians, or customer system engineers-assemble equipment and install wiring and switches on the customers' premises. They connect telephones to outside service wires and sometimes climb poles or ladders to make these connections. In apartment and office buildings, they connect wires and cables to terminals and test equipment to make sure it works properly. They also resolve maintenance problems by interpreting diagnostic results and system tests, or through the use of maintenance from another location, sometimes with engineering support. When on-site procedures fail to resolve installation or maintenance problems, they request technical support from their technical services center.

Some experienced installers and repairers have multiple skills; they are considered especially valuable by many small companies. Installers and repairers may handle special cases, such as complaints to public service commissions, illegal or unauthorized use of equipment, and electric or acoustic shocks.

Telephone installers may work on rooftops, ladders, and telephone poles.