Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Inspect, test, repair, or maintain electrical equipment in generating stations, substations, and in-service relays.
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) · Relay Technician · Substation Electrician
Median pay (national)
$100,940
$60,820–$127,970 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
23,040
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+5.5%
~2,000 openings/yr
Typical entry
Postsecondary nondegree award
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $127,970 versus $60,820 at the bottom 10% — 2.1x. The median of $100,940 leaves roughly 27% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +5.5% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 2,000 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 49 states with released data, Oregon pays the most for this role (median $126,460, +25% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $31,260 — a 305% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Word as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Science
- Mathematics
- Learning Strategies
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- 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.
- Run signal quality and connectivity tests for individual cables, and record results.
- Maintain inventories of spare parts for all equipment, requisitioning parts as necessary.
- Repair, replace, and clean equipment and components such as circuit breakers, brushes, and commutators.
- Notify facility personnel of equipment shutdowns.
- Test insulators and bushings of equipment by inducing voltage across insulation, testing current, and calculating insulation loss.
Tools & technology
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Word
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Microsoft Windows
- Fluke Corporation FlukeView Forms
- Megger PowerDB
- OMICRON Test Universe
- Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
- Web browser software
- Microsoft Outlook
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Engineering and Technology
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Design
- Physics