Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 23,100 people employed as electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay in the United States. The median annual salary is $85,300. Entry level employees earn approximately $54,680 per year and senior employees earn approximately $110,110 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime pay, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• 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.
• Schedule and supervise splicing or termination of cables in color-code order.
• Test oil in circuit breakers and transformers for dielectric strength, refilling oil periodically.
• Disconnect voltage regulators, bolts, and screws, and connect replacement regulators to high-voltage lines.
• Set forms and pour concrete footings for installation of heavy equipment.
• Test insulators and bushings of equipment by inducing voltage across insulation, testing current, and calculating insulation loss.
• Schedule and supervise the construction and testing of special devices and the implementation of unique monitoring or control systems.

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