Top Skills Every Electronics Technician Needs to Succeed in the Ever-Evolving Electronics Industry

Electronics permeate every aspect of our world, from kitchen appliances and aerospace to medicine and advanced manufacturing, and the technology never stays still. Recent years have seen the rise of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, solid-state power electronics, and advanced battery manufacturing technology. Emerging technologies include organic and biodegradable electronics (with organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) already in use), wearable medical devices, and pervasive artificial intelligence (AI).

What does this constant change mean for the Electronics Technician hoping for a long career? It’s easy to talk about the importance of lifelong learning, but in this article we’ll take a closer look at the essential skills every technician may need.

Three Skills Areas

Job skills are often split into two types: hard skills and soft skills. We suggest there’s a third area: practical skills.

Hard skills are about subject matter expertise. They’re a prerequisite for landing a position in any field, not just electronics. Soft skills relate to the ability to work with others. “No man is an island”, and that’s as true in electronics as in life. Every successful Electronics Technician  has to deal with other people.

The third area is about the ability to do the job, and do it well. That requires both hard and soft skills, plus the ability to put them to work, quickly and effectively, to meet the demands of whatever position the technician is employed in.

Here’s a closer look at the skills essential for success in a rapidly-evolving industry.

Hard skills

Entry-level requirements for any Electronics Technician  position are:

• Understanding of fundamental theories and principles of analog and digital electronics
• Knowledge of electronic components, such as amplifiers, and their applications
• The ability to read circuit diagrams and schematics
• The knowledge required to work safely around devices (like capacitors) that can be lethal
• Familiarity with controllers, ranging from Arduino microcontrollers to Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
• Detailed knowledge of the main communication protocols used in industry (RS232, Ethernet, USB, and others)

In addition, technicians must appreciate that electronics technology is continuing to evolve, and the knowledge they started their careers with is unlikely to sustain them through multiple decades. To deal with this, they must work to keep their skills current, which may mean taking classes, or even signing up for an Electronics Technician training program.

Soft skills

Electronics Technicians will always need to work with other people. Depending on the type of business they’re employed in, this can range from managers and customers to co-workers and administrators. Particularly important soft skills include:

• Communication: Effective listening and clear explanation of processes, issues, and solutions
• Teamwork: Every Electronics Technician will need to collaborate with coworkers.
• Adaptability: Especially in smaller businesses, it’s very important to take on new tasks as the workload requires.
• Resilience: There will be days when things don’t go as planned. The ability to bounce back is essential for continued high performance.

Practical skills

Understanding the technology and being a helpful team worker will only take you so far as an Electronics Technician : it’s also important to deliver the required results in a timely manner. Key practical skills include:

• Problem-solving/diagnostic skills: This requires a good understanding of principles, coupled with the ability to work through a problem in a logical manner. Developing these skills takes practice.
• Diagnostic tool proficiency: Effectively using tools such as multimeters and oscilloscopes requires hands-on experience and regular practice.
• Lifelong learning: The best technicians are curious about how the technology they work with is changing, and they work to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.

These practical skills are acquired by carrying out the work of an Electronics Technician . This poses a problem for new entrants to the field: how do you get experience without having a job?

The answer is to follow an education program that provides opportunities to gain practical experience. This should include constructing circuits, and finding out why they don’t work as expected. Mistakes can serve as valuable learning opportunities that strengthen practical understanding.

Always Focus on and Develop Your Skills

The demand for Electronics Technicians continues to grow, driven by the expanding use of electronic components and systems in products and manufacturing. These technicians are building, testing and debugging new products, supporting complex automated production machinery, and attending to service faults and customer complaints. Their job is always varied and interesting, and never without a challenge.

One of those challenges, and one closely related to long-term job security, is the pace with which electronics technology continues to evolve. Devices once considered futuristic, like Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs), are now commonplace, and many new products and devices are just over the horizon.

If they want to enjoy sustained success in their career, every Electronics Technician  needs a mix of hard, technical skills, soft skills, and practical ability. While some soft skills are innate, current and aspiring technicians can acquire those they lack by engaging in training and development opportunities. To learn more about our Electronics Technician program, call a Program Consultant at 1-888-553-5333 or email at [email protected].