Electronics Technician Certificate - Career Opportunities

The program primarily prepares the graduate for employment and/or further on-the-job training as a service technician in the field of consumer, commercial, and industrial electronics.

Typical job-related activities may involve:

• assembly
• installation
• maintenance
• testing
• troubleshooting
• repair
• upgrading of associated electronic equipment and systems

"We have many employees enrolled in this outstanding program, and hire graduates based on the high-level of technical education that they receive from the Electronics Technician e-learning program."

Terry Deighton, Human Resources Manager, Northern Telecom Ltd.

The Age Of Electronics

Electronic technicians provide technical support and service during the production, installation, operation and repair of electrical equipment and systems.

They are employed by electrical utilities, communications companies, manufacturers of electrical equipment, consulting firms, a wide range of manufacturing, processing and transportation industries, and the federal and provincial governments.

"The field of electronics is constantly growing and evolving. Everything is moving towards being electronically-based. It will be a very high demand occupation in the future."

As a technician, you may choose to specialize in debugging or reworking products before they are manufactured, but it is more likely that you will be servicing products after they have come from the plant. In a smaller company you may find yourself doing both.

If you work in a production plant, you will help in the inspection, testing, adjusting and evaluation of electronic and electromechanical components. You may find yourself in the design team building prototypes to specifications. You might also work with researchers in electrical engineering and physics.

If you work as a service technician, you install, operate and maintain equipment and systems for customers. You also calibrate electrical or electronic equipment and instruments according to technical manuals and written instructions. You may find yourself traveling extensively.

Regardless of whether you are a production or a service technician, you will collect data and assist in the preparation of estimates, schedules, budgets, specifications and reports. You may be paid a salary or hourly wages and you have a fair amount of job mobility.

Electronic equipment service technicians are employed by electronic service companies, retail and wholesale distributors and the service departments of electronic manufacturers.

They install, troubleshoot, maintain and repair a variety of household and business equipment such as televisions, radios, video cassette recorders, stereos, photocopiers and computers. Due to the increasing complexity of electronic technology, most technicians specialize in a particular type of equipment.

"Even when times are tough, this is a good business to be in. People are using older equipment and so there are more calls for us than ever."

There will always be plenty of work for those who service and repair the electronic equipment used in homes and businesses. After all, everything is electronic in today's world.

You may find yourself working in a fully equipped shop to which items are brought for service or you may go out to the customer's home or office. If you call on customers, you have to rely heavily on your knowledge and skills to solve the problem since you can only bring a limited set of tools with you.

You are usually paid an hourly wage, though it is possible to be paid a salary. Some companies pay you a bonus based on the number of calls you complete.