In an industry largely dominated by men, Mary Cousins has carved a niche
for herself.
Cousins is a senior product specialist in the instrumentation department
of a company in Stafford, Texas. She graduated from college with a degree
in education, but became frustrated with the low pay scale associated with
teaching.
Her father was an instrument trainer for over 40 years. He steered her
in the direction of industrial instrumentation. "He knew I had the mechanical
aptitude, because I literally couldn't drive a car in his mind unless I took
it apart and put it back together. This is really what the field is all about."
Cousins feels the industry is wide open for women. She says they can excel
and make a very good living at it. Since beginning her career in industrial
instrumentation, her salary has increased four times over what she made as
a teacher.
Of course, there are a lot of challenges. But Cousins says that's really
not a problem for her.
"I've always felt you had to know your product or whatever you're selling
10 times better than a male, because you're challenged more -- which is a
good thing," says Cousins.
Industrial instrumentation doesn't mean working on instruments in a plant-type
atmosphere. In fact, you can find yourself working in a wide range of settings,
on a great variety of projects.
"The field is very diversified," Cousins says. "If you're not a hands-on
kind of person, there's the computer end of it or the sales end. There are
divisions...if you're more into robotics, automotive, power, pulp and paper
and so forth."
Shaun Karr is a microcomputer specialist and industrial electronics and
robotics technician.
Karr feels that most two-year programs are somewhat limited. "I would personally
recommend that a person look for a three-year program covering standard electronics,
as well as advanced programmable logic controllers, computer vision systems,
robotics and automation technology.
"Most three-year technical electronic-related courses of study are virtually
identical for the first two years. By taking a slightly longer course, you
gain not only a higher level of employability, but also the option of changing
your final goal without wasting what you've already learned."
There's a caveat, however. Some of the most exciting jobs you might find
are also potentially risky. They may be in settings where hazards surround
you.
"As in all things, there's a balance," says Karr. "The highest paying jobs
are also high risk....You can expect well above average pay working with sensors
on the oil drilling platforms.
"The catch is you'll be expected to do this work in [freezing] weather
on sensors that may be in hazardous locations. You have the responsibility
on your shoulders that if you don't do your job right, lives can easily be
lost -- your own included!"
Bob Whitney is an industrial instrumentation technician in the wastewater
treatment field in Oregon.
In the navy, Whitney worked on nuclear missile instrumentation. From there,
he moved to a large coal-fired power generating plant. Now he's working at
a wastewater treatment plant in Salem, Oregon.
He says working on such valuable and complicated systems is interesting
and challenging, although sometimes the people doing the instrumentation work
are unsung heroes.
"I enjoy the feeling of having the responsibility for troubleshooting and
repairing instruments or systems that are worth upwards of $1 million. The
same responsibility allows your company to depend on you to get the equipment
working so they can make a profit or meet regulations.
"The hardest part of the job is not being recognized sometimes for what
an important role the IT plays in the performance of the overall company."
Would Whitney encourage students to enter the field? Definitely.
"There are very few totally qualified ITs in this country. A true instrument
technician is a qualified electrician, mechanic, electronic and computer technician.
Not just a taste of each discipline, but fully qualified in each."
Like Whitney, Bob Purdue of Bridgeview, Illinois, was introduced to his
occupation through military service.
"I took a circuitous route. I originally started with military training
in what they called binary electronics, called 'digital' nowadays. After spending
seven years in the communications field in the military, I got out and actually
took the best offer I had that wasn't a copier repairman."
That job led to company-sponsored seminars in topics such as microprocessors.
But he's also relied on a great deal of self-learning. "Different situations,
like working for a manufacturer's representative, and doing third-party service
work, I find that I pick things up either through reading manuals or knowing
the proper questions to ask the engineers. When I get into a problem where
I need help, a lot of times the engineers aren't able to help."
He says the field requires a wide scope of knowledge. "Back in the old
days,s the engineers used to do a lot of their homework. They'd
get the correct-sized heat exchangers. Now they seem to pick the best buy
they can get. A lot of times you have to tweak their engineering to get the
thing to work properly."
Purdue has high regard for some of the older instrumentation. "Originally,
when I started, there was a lot of analog instrumentation. I've seen stuff
as old as me out there and it still runs."
And, he adds, the modern stuff comes with some drawbacks. "With some of
the newer instrumentation, you have to have real tiny fingertips to be able
to push the buttons on them," he says, laughing.