Vocational Careers in Engineering and Technical Fields | Aeronautical engineering | Civil engineering | Electrical and electronics engineering | Electromechanical engineering

Vocational Careers in Engineering and Technical Fields I. Engineering Technicians: Overview: Engineering Technicians use the principles and theories of science, engineering, and mathematics to solve technical problems in research and development, manufacturing, sales, construction, inspection, and maintenance. Their work is more narrowly focused and application-oriented than that of engineers. Many engineering technicians work as assist engineers, especially in research and development. Others work in quality control, inspecting products and processes, conducting tests, or collecting data. In manufacturing, they may assist in product design, development, or production. Workers who repair or maintain various types of electrical, electronic, or mechanical equipment are called technicians Engineering technicians who work in research and development build or set up equipment; prepare and conduct experiments; collect data; calculate or record results; and help engineers or scientists in other ways, such as making prototype versions of newly designed equipment. They also assist in design work, often using computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) equipment. Aeronautical engineering and operations technicians construct, test, and maintain aircraft and space vehicles. They may calibrate test equipment and determine causes of equipment malfunctions. Using computer and communications systems, aerospace engineering and operations technicians often record and interpret test data. Civil engineering technicians help civil engineers plan and oversee the building of highways, buildings, bridges, dams, wastewater treatment systems, and other structures and do related research. Some estimate construction costs and specify materials to be used, and some may even prepare drawings or perform land-surveying duties. Others may set up and monitor instruments used to study traffic conditions. Electrical and electronics engineering technicians help design, develop, test, and manufacture electrical and electronic equipment such as communication equipment; radar, industrial, and medical monitoring or control devices; navigational equipment; and computers. They may work in product evaluation and testing, using measuring and diagnostic devices to adjust, test, and repair equipment. Electromechanical engineering technicians combine knowledge of mechanical engineering technology with knowledge of electrical and electronic circuits to design, develop, test, and manufacture electronic and computer-controlled mechanical systems. Their work often overlaps that of both electrical and electronics engineering technicians and mechanical engineering technicians. Environmental engineering technicians work closely with environmental engineers and scientists in developing methods and devices used in the prevention, control, or correction of environmental hazards. They inspect and maintain equipment related to air pollution and recycling. Some inspect water and wastewater treatment systems to ensure that pollution control requirements are met. Industrial engineering technicians study the efficient use of personnel, materials, and machines in factories, stores, repair shops, and offices. They prepare layouts of machinery and equipment, plan the flow of work, conduct statistical studies of production time or quality, and analyze production costs. Mechanical engineering technicians help engineers design, develop, test, and manufacture industrial machinery, consumer products, and other equipment. They may assist in product tests by, for example, setting up instrumentation for auto crash tests. They may make sketches and rough layouts, record and analyze data, make calculations and estimates, and report on their findings. When planning production, mechanical engineering technicians prepare layouts and drawings of the assembly process and of parts to be manufactured. They estimate labour costs, equipment life, and plant space. Some test and inspect machines and equipment or work with engineers to eliminate production problems. Job Prospects: All engineering technicians work in manufacturing, mainly in the electronic equipment, transportation equipment, and machinery manufacturing industries. They also work in professional and technical service industries, mostly in engineering or business services companies that do engineering work on contract for government, manufacturing firms, or other organisationorganisations. II. Electrician: Overview: Electricians bring electricity into homes, businesses, and factories. They install and maintain the wiring, fuses, and other components through which electricity flows. Many electricians also install and maintain electrical machines in factories. Electricians usually start their work by reading blueprints. Blueprints are technical diagrams that show the locations of circuits, outlets, load centres, panel boards, and other equipment. Electricians generally focus on either construction or maintenance, although many do both. Electricians specializing in construction primarily install wiring systems into factories, businesses, and new homes. Electricians specializing in maintenance work fix and upgrade existing electrical systems and repair electrical equipment. Job Prospects: Electricians are usually employed in the construction industry and the remainder worked as maintenance electricians in other industries.  Few electricians are also self-employed. III. Drafter: Overview: Drafters prepare technical drawings and plans, which are used to build everything from manufactured products such as toasters, industrial machinery, and aircraft to structures such as houses, office buildings, and oil and gas pipelines. In the past, drafters sat at drawing boards and used pencils, pens, compasses, protractors, triangles, and other drafting devices to prepare a drawing by hand. Now, most drafters use Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) systems to prepare drawings. Consequently, some drafters may be referred to as CADD operators. With CADD systems, drafters can create and store drawings electronically so that they can be viewed, printed, or programme directly into automated manufacturing systems. CADD systems also permit drafters to quickly prepare variations of a design. Although drafters use CADD extensively, it is only a tool. Drafters still need knowledge of traditional drafting techniques, in addition to CADD skills. Despite the nearly universal use of CADD systems, manual drafting and sketching are used in certain applications. Drafters’ drawings provide visual guidelines and show how to construct a product or structure. Drawings include technical details and specify dimensions, materials, and procedures. Drafters fill in technical details using drawings, rough sketches, specifications, and calculations made by engineers, surveyors, architects, or scientists. For example, drafters use their knowledge of standardised building techniques to draw in the details of a structure. Some use their understanding of engineering and manufacturing theory and standards to draw the parts of a machine; they determine design elements, such as the numbers and kinds of fasteners needed to assemble the machine. Drafters use technical handbooks, tables, calculators, and computers to complete their work. Drafting work has many specialties: Aeronautical drafters prepare engineering drawings detailing plans and specifications used in the manufacture of aircraft, and related parts. Architectural drafters draw architectural and structural features of buildings and other structures. These workers may specialise in a type of structure, such as residential or commercial, or in a kind of material used, such as reinforced concrete, masonry, steel, or timber. Civil drafters prepare drawings and topographical and relief maps used in major construction or civil engineering projects, such as highways, bridges, pipelines, flood control projects, and water and sewage systems. Electrical drafters prepare wiring and layout diagrams used by workers who erect, install, and repair electrical equipment and wiring in communication centres, power plants, electrical distribution systems, and buildings. Electronics drafters draw wiring diagrams, circuit board assembly diagrams, schematics, and layout drawings used in the manufacture, installation, and repair of electronic devices and components. Mechanical drafters prepare drawings showing the detail and assembly of a wide variety of machinery and mechanical devices, indicating dimensions, fastening methods, and other requirements. Process piping or pipeline drafters prepare drawings used in the layout, construction, and operation of oil and gas fields, refineries, chemical plants, and process piping systems. Job Prospects: Majority of jobs for drafters are in architectural, engineering, and related services firms that design construction projects or do other engineering work on a contract basis for other industries. Few jobs were in manufacturing industries such as machinery manufacturing, including metalworking and other general machinery; fabricated metal products manufacturing, including architectural and structural metals; computer and electronic products manufacturing etc. IV. Surveyors and Mapping Technicians Overview: Surveyors, cartographers, and photogrammetrists are responsible for measuring and mapping the Earth’s surface.Surveyors establish official land, airspace, and water boundaries. They write descriptions of land for deeds, leases, and other legal documents; and take measurements of construction and mineral sites. Other surveyors provide data about the shape, contour, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features. Surveyors measure distances, directions, and angles between points and elevations of points, lines, and contours on, above, and below the Earth’s surface. In the field, they select known survey reference points and determine the precise location of important features in the survey area using specialised equipment. Surveyors also research legal records, look for evidence of previous boundaries, and analyze data to determine the location of boundary lines. They are sometimes called to provide expert testimony in court about their work. Surveyors also record their results, verify the accuracy of data, and prepare plots, maps, and reports. Some surveyors perform specialisespecialised functions closer to those of cartographers and photogrammetrists than to those of traditional surveyors. For example, geodetic surveyors use high-accuracy techniques, including satellite observations, to measure large areas of the earth’s surface. Geophysical prospecting surveyors mark sites for subsurface exploration, usually to look for petroleum. Marine or hydrographic surveyors survey harbours, rivers, and other bodies of water to determine shorelines, the topography of the bottom, water depth, and other features. Surveyors use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate reference points with a high degree of precision. To use this system, a surveyor places a satellite signal receiver on a desired point, and another receiver on a point for which the geographic position is known. The receiver simultaneously collects information from several satellites to establish a precise position. The receiver also can be placed in a vehicle for tracing out road systems. Because receivers now come in different sizes and shapes, and because the cost of receivers has fallen, much more surveying work can be done with GPS. Surveyors then interpret and check the results produced by the new technology. Field measurements are often taken by surveying technicians that gathers the information needed by the surveyor. The surveying technicians who may be either a surveyor or a senior surveying technician, leads day-to-day work activities. Surveying technicians assist by adjusting and operating surveying instruments, such as the total station, which measures and records angles and distances simultaneously. Surveying technicians or assistants position and hold the vertical rods, or targets, that the operator sights on to measure angles, distances, or elevations. They may hold measuring tapes if electronic distance-measuring equipment is not used. Surveying technicians compile notes, make sketches, and enter the data obtained from surveying instruments into computers either in the field or at the office. Photogrammetrists and cartographers measure, map, and chart the Earth’s surface. Their work involves everything from performing geographical research and compiling data to producing maps. They collect, analyze, and interpret both spatial data—such as latitude, longitude, elevation, and distance—and nonspatial data—for example, population density, land-use patterns, annual precipitation levels, and demographic characteristics. Their maps may give both physical and social characteristics of the land. They prepare maps in either digital or graphic form, using information provided by geodetic surveys and remote sensing systems including aerial cameras, satellites, and LIDAR. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become an integral tool for surveyors, cartographers and photogrammetrists, and surveying and mapping technicians. Workers use GIS to assemble, integrate, analyze, and display data about location in a digital format. They also use GIS to compile information from a variety of sources. GIS typically are used to make maps which combine information useful for environmental studies, geology, engineering, planning, business marketing, and other disciplines. As more of these systems are developed, many mapping specialists are being called geographic information specialists. Job Prospects: The architectural, engineering, and related services industry—including firms that provided surveying and mapping services to other industries on a contract basis—provided jobs for these workers. Surveyors can work in government department such as highway departments or urban planning and redevelopment agencies. Construction, mining and utility companies also employ surveyors, cartographers, photogrammetrists, and surveying technicians. V. Electrical and Electronic Installer and Repairer: Overview: Businesses and other organisationorganisations depend on complex electronic equipment for a variety of functions. Industrial controls automatically monitor and direct production processes on the factory floor. Transmitters and antennae provide communication links for many organisationorganisations. Electric power companies use electronic equipment to operate and control generating plants, substations, and monitoring equipment. These complex pieces of electronic equipment are installed, maintained, and repaired by electrical and electronics installers and repairers. Installers and repairers, known as field technicians, often travel to factories or other locations to repair equipment. These workers usually have assigned areas in which they perform preventive maintenance on a regular basis. When equipment breaks down, field technicians go to a customer’s site to repair the equipment. Bench technicians work in repair shops located in factories and service centres, fixing components that cannot be repaired on the factory floor. Because repairing components is a complex activity and factories cannot allow production equipment to stand idle, repairers on the factory floor usually remove and replace defective units, such as circuit boards, instead of fixing them. Defective units are discarded or returned to the manufacturer or a specialised shop for repair. Bench technicians at these locations have the training, tools, and parts needed to thoroughly diagnose and repair circuit boards or other complex components. These workers also locate and repair circuit defects, such as poorly soldered joints, blown fuses, or malfunctioning transistors. Electronic home equipment installers and repairers—also called service technicians—repair a variety of equipment. They may specialisespecialise in one type of product, or may be trained in many different ones. The most common products include televisions and radios, stereo components, video cameras, mobile, TV and Refrigerator. They also install and repair home security systems, intercom equipment, satellite television dishes, and home theatre systems etc. Job Prospects: Many repairers worked for utilities; building equipment contractors; machinery and equipment repair shops; electrical and electronics wholesalers; electronics and appliance retailers; motor vehicle and parts dealers; manufacturers of electrical, electronic, and transportation equipment etc. They may even work by setting up their own private repair shops. VI. Machinists: Overview: Machinists use machine tools, such as lathes, milling machines, and machining centres, to produce precision metal parts. Although they may produce large quantities of one part, precision machinists often produce small batches or one-of-a-kind items. They use their knowledge of the working properties of metals and their skill with machine tools to plan and carry out the operations needed to make machined products that meet precise specifications. Machinists first review electronic or written blueprints or specifications for a job before they machine a part. Next, they calculate where to cut or bore into the work piece—the piece of steel, aluminium, titanium, plastic, silicon or any other material that is being shaped. They determine how fast to feed the work piece into the machine and how much material to remove. They then select tools and materials for the job, plan the sequence of cutting and finishing operations, and mark the work piece to show where cuts should be made. After this layout work is completed, machinists perform the necessary machining operations. They position the work piece on the machine tool—drill press, lathe, milling machine, or other type of machine—set the controls, and make the cuts. During the machining process, they must constantly monitor the feed rate and speed of the machine. Machinists also ensure that the work piece is properly lubricated and cooled because the machining of metal products generates a significant amount of heat. The temperature of the work piece is a key concern because most metals expand when heated; machinists must adjust the size of their cuts relative to the temperature. During the cutting process, machinists detect problems by listening for specific sounds—for example, that of a dull cutting tool or excessive vibration. Dull cutting tools are removed and replaced. Cutting speeds are adjusted to compensate for harmonic vibrations, which can decrease the accuracy of cuts, particularly on newer high-speed spindles and lathes. After the work is completed, machinists use both simple and highly sophisticated measuring tools to check the accuracy of their work against blueprints. Some machinists, often called production machinists, may produce large quantities of one part, especially parts requiring the use of complex operations and great precision. Many modern machine tools are computer numerically controlled (CNC). CNC machines, following a computer programme, control the cutting tool speed, change dull tools, and perform all of the necessary cuts to create a part. Frequently, machinists work with computer control programmers to determine how the automated equipment will cut a part. The machinist determines the cutting path, speed of the cut and the feed rate, and the programmer converts path, speed, and feed information into a set of instructions for the CNC machine tool. Job Prospects: Machinists work in manufacturing industries such as machine shops and machinery, motor vehicle and parts, and other transportation equipment manufacturing firms. Maintenance machinists work in most industries that use production machinery. VII. Welder, Soldering and Brazing Worker: Overview: Welding is the most common way of permanently joining metal parts. In this process, heat is applied to metal pieces, melting and fusing them to form a permanent bond. Because of its strength, welding is used in automobile manufacturing, repairing and thousands of other manufacturing activities. Welding also is used to join beams when constructing buildings, bridges, and other structures and to join pipes in pipelines, power plants, and refineries. There are different welding processes that a welder can employ. Some are performed manually, and the work is entirely controlled by the welder. Others are semi-automatic, and the welder uses machinery, such as a wire feeder, to perform welding tasks. Like welders, soldering and brazing workers use molten metal to join two pieces of metal. However, the metal added during the soldering and brazing process has a melting point lower than that of the piece, so only the added metal is melted, not the piece. Soldering uses metals with a melting point below 800 degrees Fahrenheit; brazing uses metals with a higher melting point. Because soldering and brazing do not melt the piece, these processes normally do not create the distortions or weaknesses in the piece that can occur with welding. Soldering commonly is used to join electrical, electronic, and other small metal parts. Brazing produces a stronger joint than does soldering and often is used to join metals other than steel, such as brass. Brazing can also be used to apply coatings to parts to reduce wear and protect against corrosion. Skilled welding, soldering, and brazing workers generally plan work from drawings or specifications and use their knowledge of welding processes and base metals to determine how best to join the parts. Highly skilled welders often are trained to work with a wide variety of materials, such as titanium, aluminium, or plastics, in addition to steel. Welders then select and set up welding equipment, execute the planned welds, and examine welds to ensure that they meet standards or specifications. By observing problems during the welding process, welders can compensate by adjusting the speed, voltage, amperage, or feed of the rod. Some welders have more limited duties, however. They perform routine jobs that already have been planned and laid out and do not require extensive knowledge of welding techniques. Job Prospects:Jobs were concentrated in fabricated metal product manufacturing, transportation equipment manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, architectural and structural metals manufacturing, and construction. VIII. Mechanic and Auto Diesel Mechanics: Overview: Mechanics inspect, maintain, and repair automobiles and light trucks that run on gasoline, or alternative. Automotive service technicians’ and mechanics’ responsibilities have evolved from simple mechanical repairs to high-level technology-related work. The increasing sophistication of automobiles requires workers who can use computerized shop equipment and work with electronic components while maintaining their skills with traditional hand tools. During routine service inspections, technicians test and lubricate engines and other major components. Sometimes technicians repair or replace worn parts before they cause breakdowns or damage the vehicle. Technicians usually follow a checklist to ensure that they examine every critical part. Belts, hoses, plugs, brake and fuel systems, and other potentially troublesome items are watched closely. Service technicians use a variety of tools in their work. They use power tools, such as pneumatic wrenches to remove bolts quickly; machine tools like lathes and grinding machines to rebuild brakes; welding and flame-cutting equipment to remove and repair exhaust systems, and jacks and hoists to lift cars and engines. They also use common hand tools, such as screwdrivers, pliers, and wrenches, to work on small parts and in hard-to-reach places. Technicians usually provide their own hand tools, and many experienced workers have thousands of rupees invested in them. Employers furnish expensive power tools, engine analyzers, and other diagnostic equipment. High technology tools are needed to fix the computer equipment that operates everything from the engine to the radio in many cars. In fact, today most automotive systems, such as braking, transmission, and steering systems, are controlled primarily by computers and electronic components. Automotive service technicians in large shops often specialise in certain types of repairs. For example, transmission technicians and rebuilders work on gear trains, couplings, hydraulic pumps, and other parts of transmissions. Extensive knowledge of computer controls, the ability to diagnose electrical and hydraulic problems, and other specialised skills are needed to work on these complex components, which employ some of the most sophisticated technology used in vehicles.Tune-up technicians adjust ignition timing and valves and adjust or replace spark plugs and other parts to ensure efficient engine performance. They often use electronic testing equipment to isolate and adjust malfunctions in fuel, ignition, and emissions control systems. Diesel service technicians and Auto diesel mechanics, including bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, repair and maintain the diesel engines that power transportation equipment. Some diesel technicians and mechanics also work on other heavy vehicles and mobile equipment, including bulldozers, cranes, road graders, farm tractors, and combines. Other technicians repair diesel-powered passenger automobiles, light trucks etc. Job Prospects: Automotive service technicians and mechanics works with automotive repair and maintenance shops and automotive dealers. In addition, automotive parts, accessories, and tire stores also employed automotive service technicians. Mechanic can also be self-employed.

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