If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?

Thanks,
Doug

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?

What area? What about grocery store notice boards? Local IBEW hall?

N

Unless you are willing to pay over $50K for someone with the skills and
experience, good luck. Most people with those skills and experience
are already gainfully employed with a larger firm with full benefits.
Unless they are total losers.

There is such a big shortage of biomedical electronics technicians
nationwide, many people leaving the consumer electronics repair field
with 2 year are better degrees, are upgrading training with anatomy and
physiology, chemistry, and if possible a couple of biomedical
electronics courses. Starting pay is not bad, not super good either,
but it is a very stable field with generally good benefits. $15.00 hr
to start with very little experience and lots of on the job training,
plus full medical and 401K. Typical $20 hr after 5 years. Add the
fact it is a relatively easy job for someone to move over from
electronics repair, and many people are looking at it.

There is also a good possibility that the ad you have been running is
very poorly written. Most good technicians are already employed and
have no trouble finding employment, barring a big company layoff of a
large number of technicians at once. You have to provide enough
details about the job, reposibilities, and pay scale/benefits to
recruit people who are already employed. You will have to make sure
you pay and benefits are at least average for your area or better.

Where are you at?

I have stop work as a electronic repair man and go to school for 2 year
to learn video grapics and stuff like that, beacuse I find the repair
field dying...
I live in Sweden, things may be different here.

Mr Nisse

NSM wrote:
"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...

If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?


What area? What about grocery store notice boards? Local IBEW hall?

N

hey Doug,
you have 2 techs right here in Va. with 40 years between us in consumer
electronics..!! where are you??

Dave & Craig,






"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?

Thanks,
Doug

You may want to evaluate whether your requirements listed in the ad's were too restrictive (in terms of pay, hours required to work, necessary skill set, etc) or evaluate whether the skillset you want can be instilled in anybody with a modicum of interest in that kind of work.

You might also want to check with local high school instructors to see if there are students who are good at that kind of work who might be interested and trainable. Yes, that might require a bit more help on your end, but many schools (at least where I'm at) have dropped vocational programs, and the economics suggest (to me anyway) that electronics repair is dwindling. I have a 2 year degree in electronics repair (digital area, not so much analog as in radio's, amplifiers, etc) and did cryptographic repair in the military for 4 years. The degree was acquired approx 15 years ago, and the writing was on the wall back then, which is why I chose the digital track and then continued on with Computer Science degree work.

Some other suggestions might be to see if there are local military bases with electronic repair shops nearby, with people who might be willing to make some extra money. Then there are other shops - if you offer better compensation, training opportunities, benefits, etc. You might be able to score. Try leaving cards in nearby sandwich shop bulletin boards.

I'd also look in the phonebook for copier or appliance repair shops (supply houses might work too) and see if they can recommend some good people they've seen around. FWIW, it seems that the emphasis of late towards preparing kids to go on to academic careers in college (and the lack of funding for voc-ed programs) as well as the fast-paced move towards extremely high density/complexity (and disposably priced) electronics has removed a lot of economic incentives for continue work in this area.

You may also want to consider contacting local college career centers to see if you can place advertisements on their bullletin boards to see if you can't score on any students who are retraining (away from prior electronic tech jobs) and could use some extra money. Or if there are technical schools in the area (not necessarily electronics, but more "technical" in nature where people might be training for another line of work)

Check dice.com and monster.com for resumes and see if you can find any local resumes for technical people with keywords like "electronic", "repair", "television", "audio" or "radio".

If you want to find people for this type of work, you won't usually find them via a newspaper ad. Check out local Ham/Computer swap meets, be willing to ask around. When you find someone, get references. Don't be overly rigorous. You want to find someone who's good, unless you're not willing to pay for good techs. And that needs to be evaluated as well. And you need to be sensitive as to whether or not your shop has a good reputation for employment. A number of dealerships around here can't seem to find good tech's, but they treat their techs like dirt, and word gets around.

One other idea that just came to mind would be any local electronic parts stores. We have a couple of places in town, some of them are high priced salvage shops, but they bring in people who rummage the bins for electronics parts, and those types of people know how to find their way around repair work/circuit boards.

And it would be helpful if you'd put your locality, as there might be someone here on this forum that might be looking for extra/new work.

Good luck!

Justin

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?

Thanks,
Doug


And more generally , I don't know what its called generically,
Splits into 2 different repair areas.
1/ company specific technicians who just change boards with
company/product/model specific fault dignosis charts/procedures.
2/ Component level repair techs who can take on a wide range
of kit but turn around time is much longer

electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~diverse

jmasters wrote:

You may want to evaluate whether your requirements listed in the ad's
were too restrictive (in terms of pay, hours required to work,
necessary skill set, etc) or evaluate whether the skillset you want can
be instilled in anybody with a modicum of interest in that kind of work.

You might also want to check with local high school instructors to see
if there are students who are good at that kind of work who might be
interested and trainable. Yes, that might require a bit more help on
your end, but many schools (at least where I'm at) have dropped
vocational programs, and the economics suggest (to me anyway) that
electronics repair is dwindling. I have a 2 year degree in electronics
repair (digital area, not so much analog as in radio's, amplifiers, etc)
and did cryptographic repair in the military for 4 years. The degree
was acquired approx 15 years ago, and the writing was on the wall back
then, which is why I chose the digital track and then continued on with
Computer Science degree work.

Some other suggestions might be to see if there are local military
bases with electronic repair shops nearby, with people who might be
willing to make some extra money. Then there are other shops - if you
offer better compensation, training opportunities, benefits, etc. You
might be able to score. Try leaving cards in nearby sandwich shop
bulletin boards.

I'd also look in the phonebook for copier or appliance repair shops
(supply houses might work too) and see if they can recommend some good
people they've seen around. FWIW, it seems that the emphasis of late
towards preparing kids to go on to academic careers in college (and the
lack of funding for voc-ed programs) as well as the fast-paced move
towards extremely high density/complexity (and disposably priced)
electronics has removed a lot of economic incentives for continue work
in this area.

You may also want to consider contacting local college career centers
to see if you can place advertisements on their bullletin boards to see
if you can't score on any students who are retraining (away from prior
electronic tech jobs) and could use some extra money. Or if there are
technical schools in the area (not necessarily electronics, but more
"technical" in nature where people might be training for another line
of work)

Check dice.com and monster.com for resumes and see if you can find any
local resumes for technical people with keywords like "electronic",
"repair", "television", "audio" or "radio".

If you want to find people for this type of work, you won't usually
find them via a newspaper ad. Check out local Ham/Computer swap meets,
be willing to ask around. When you find someone, get references. Don't
be overly rigorous. You want to find someone who's good, unless you're
not willing to pay for good techs. And that needs to be evaluated as
well. And you need to be sensitive as to whether or not your shop has
a good reputation for employment. A number of dealerships around here
can't seem to find good tech's, but they treat their techs like dirt,
and word gets around.

One other idea that just came to mind would be any local electronic
parts stores. We have a couple of places in town, some of them are
high priced salvage shops, but they bring in people who rummage the
bins for electronics parts, and those types of people know how to find
their way around repair work/circuit boards.

And it would be helpful if you'd put your locality, as there might be
someone here on this forum that might be looking for extra/new work.

Good luck!

Justin

--
jmasters

One other point: Some companies get a bad reputation whether the
deserve it or not and people just ignore the ads. I worked for a
engineer to order electronics manufacturer. I wore a jacket with their
logo on it to a hamfest and got heckled all day long and bored with
stories about how bad everything was at the plant. When I would tell
them that I had never seen what they were talking about in the years i
worked there, I was called a liar, because his buddy's buddy told him
all the horror stories while they were out drinking, or there 14th
cousin 17 times removed got fired and they were all horrible people.
One people get that mindset they won't even consider applying for a job.

I have had two shops want to hire me in the last two years but I am
now 100% disabled. I can troubleshoot, but I can barely walk and have
lost so much strength I can't even pick up some of the test equipment
anymore. I always enjoyed being a tech whether I was self employed,
working in an old TV shop at 13 or working in manufacturing on the floor
or in engineering. You will find a lot of good people who could do the
work but have become frustrated because no one was willing to give them
a chance because of physical problems. I got my last job because the
company was desperate. They wanted four techs for production. I was
the only one who applied so they finally took the chance and were
surprised I could do the work of two or three of the other techs every
day, but I would have to take days off for doctor's appointments. When
I started running out of vacation and sick days to cover them and too
ill to accept much overtime I was laid off. they told me I was no longer
a team player because I "Had the nerve!" to refuse overtime. Employees
aren't machines, but some plaes forget that, too.


--
Beware of those who post from srvinet.com!

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Doug Wrote:
If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would
you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several
times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?

Thanks,
Doug


It might help your cause if you gave an approximate location?


--
Woody

harrogate2 at ntlworld dot com

How about a retired or laid off hardware designer/electrical engineer?
Seems there are a lot of them out there these days and if the hours are
flexible, they might enjoy the work and not require as much training to
bring up to speed.

Bob
"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?

Thanks,
Doug

How about informing the local State Employment office or similar agencies of
your needs!

cl

"Bob Shuman" wrote in message
...
How about a retired or laid off hardware designer/electrical engineer?
Seems there are a lot of them out there these days and if the hours are
flexible, they might enjoy the work and not require as much training to
bring up to speed.

Bob
"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?

Thanks,
Doug

Servicing home entertainment equipment on the bench is a dying profession.
Many of the highly skilled technical people are getting jobs directly for
the manufactures. The very good techs are earning very large salaries. If
you are a small independent operating, it will be very difficult to get
someone that is very good.

I worked in service centres where we were paid about $20 US + pre hour as a
base rate. Many of the techs in these service centres were making an average
of about $25 US per hour.

If you went around to the tech schools, universities, and posted a job offer
at least $20 per hour to start with, and offered something attractive with
it, then you may have some success. You will have to weed out the good ones
from the bulk that come in. This is what most employers have to be able to
do.

--

Jerry G.
=====

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
If you were looking for a technician's job, how and where would you
look? We have advertised in the classifieds for weeks, several times
during the last year, trying to find someone to help us with
televisions and audio gear. Response has been disappointing.

There are no schools in our area teaching the skills we need. Does
anyone have suggestions on how we could find someone to fill our
position?

Thanks,
Doug

To all who responded, Thank You!

We will try some of your suggestions, along with expanding our search
into adjacent counties. We have investigated using a
government-affiliated service that offers free help to job seekers.
Unfortunately, the service is not free to employers, and is out of our
reach.

We're looking for an experienced or well-trained tech. Most who would
qualify are already working or have retired. Posting ads in public
places is a great idea, because they might be seen by someone who's not
actually looking for a job, but might enjoy working here.

The tech schools in our area do not offer couses in consumer product
repair, but we will speak with them. It's worth a try.

For those who asked, we're in PA.

Thanks again to all,

Doug

Doug,

I looked for a tech for several years and had to end up getting a graduate
of a generic electronics program and training him. After about a year he is
getting to the point that he can produce without much supervision. It is
quite an investment in time, but if you can find someone who is committed it
is worth it. I now have a tech who understands how we like to do things and
is rapidly developing into a good problem solver.

Leonard

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
To all who responded, Thank You!

We will try some of your suggestions, along with expanding our search
into adjacent counties. We have investigated using a
government-affiliated service that offers free help to job seekers.
Unfortunately, the service is not free to employers, and is out of our
reach.

We're looking for an experienced or well-trained tech. Most who would
qualify are already working or have retired. Posting ads in public
places is a great idea, because they might be seen by someone who's not
actually looking for a job, but might enjoy working here.

The tech schools in our area do not offer couses in consumer product
repair, but we will speak with them. It's worth a try.

For those who asked, we're in PA.

Thanks again to all,

Doug

Things are good in Gainesville. Everyone is still looking for techs. The
business is more challenging all the time but we keep learning and
fixing...glad to see you are back. Where were you?

Leonard

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...
Leonard Caillouet wrote:

Doug,

I looked for a tech for several years and had to end up getting a
graduate
of a generic electronics program and training him. After about a year
he is
getting to the point that he can produce without much supervision. It
is
quite an investment in time, but if you can find someone who is
committed it
is worth it. I now have a tech who understands how we like to do things
and
is rapidly developing into a good problem solver.

Leonard


Leonard, I'm glad you finally found someone I was off line for over
a year and ended up on full disability. I have just been back on line
for a couple weeks now. How are things in Gainsville these days?

--

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Leonard Caillouet wrote:

Doug,

I looked for a tech for several years and had to end up getting a graduate
of a generic electronics program and training him. After about a year he is
getting to the point that he can produce without much supervision. It is
quite an investment in time, but if you can find someone who is committed it
is worth it. I now have a tech who understands how we like to do things and
is rapidly developing into a good problem solver.

Leonard


Leonard, I'm glad you finally found someone I was off line for over
a year and ended up on full disability. I have just been back on line
for a couple weeks now. How are things in Gainsville these days?

--

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Leonard Caillouet wrote:

Things are good in Gainesville. Everyone is still looking for techs. The
business is more challenging all the time but we keep learning and
fixing...glad to see you are back. Where were you?

Leonard

I got to where I couldn't afford a telephone or internet access. I
tried to set up a Google news account from the library, but their
security wouldn't let me. So, I had no access for a year. I recently
was awarded a 100% non service connected disability and can afford to be
on line for right now. I would rather be able to work, but I'm addicted
to eating and having a roof over my head. A shop near belleview wanted
me to work a few hours a week, but I never know when I will feel well
enough to do anything. I am keeping busy, though. the local Vets
Helping Vets will be collecting used and dead computers for me to
repair. We will give them to disabled vets in Marion county who can't
afford to buy a computer.

Also, my church is looking for a portable classroom or office to set
up free computer classes. I have a couple smart kids who have some
interest in electronics and I am hoping to make decent techs out of them
by the time they graduate. They have the aptitude, but being teenagers
they have too many distractions. I will try to stop in for a visit
again sometime, if i get the chance. I've been riding the VA shuttle
from Ocala to Gainsville for the past year but I hope to get my old
truck back on the road so I can start driving again.

--
Beware of those who post from srvinet.com!

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Mike,

Tried to send you a private message...got an error on the screen to request
addition to your authorized list.

email me at
first letter of my first name +
first six letters of last name
at
devoynet
dot
com

or call me at the shop. Maybe we can help each other out.

Leonard

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
...
Leonard Caillouet wrote:

Things are good in Gainesville. Everyone is still looking for techs.
The
business is more challenging all the time but we keep learning and
fixing...glad to see you are back. Where were you?

Leonard

I got to where I couldn't afford a telephone or internet access. I
tried to set up a Google news account from the library, but their
security wouldn't let me. So, I had no access for a year. I recently
was awarded a 100% non service connected disability and can afford to be
on line for right now. I would rather be able to work, but I'm addicted
to eating and having a roof over my head. A shop near belleview wanted
me to work a few hours a week, but I never know when I will feel well
enough to do anything. I am keeping busy, though. the local Vets
Helping Vets will be collecting used and dead computers for me to
repair. We will give them to disabled vets in Marion county who can't
afford to buy a computer.

Also, my church is looking for a portable classroom or office to set
up free computer classes. I have a couple smart kids who have some
interest in electronics and I am hoping to make decent techs out of them
by the time they graduate. They have the aptitude, but being teenagers
they have too many distractions. I will try to stop in for a visit
again sometime, if i get the chance. I've been riding the VA shuttle
from Ocala to Gainsville for the past year but I hope to get my old
truck back on the road so I can start driving again.

--
Beware of those who post from srvinet.com!

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Leonard Caillouet wrote:

Mike,

Tried to send you a private message...got an error on the screen to request
addition to your authorized list.

email me at
first letter of my first name +
first six letters of last name
at
devoynet
dot
com

or call me at the shop. Maybe we can help each other out.

Leonard

I cleared your messages and replied to you. I'm sorry I have to keep
the spam filter set so high but I check the trap several times a day. I
had only been back on line 15 minutes when the spam started, and a
couple hours before an idiot on a newsgroup started mailing me
obscenities and claiming I had him thrown off his ISP while I had no
Internet access. I finally had to trap his entire ISP for email and
newsgroups.


--
E-stalking is a crime!

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida