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Industrial Instrumentation Technician

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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.

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