# I am interested in becoming an instrumentation technician/Industrial Electrician



## B.Jenkins (Apr 14, 2016)

I really want to become an instrumentation technician or get into the industrial electrical side of the trade but it seems there are very little entry level job postings online and I don't know where or which training program to get started with so in the meantime I was considering to just becoming a member of the International Society of Automation (should I sign up for the student membership or the standard membership?) 



Also, if anyone could post a list of essential tools an instrumentation tech should have other than the standard list of tools that would be great. (I'm a bit of a tool junkie so of course I'm the guy everyone else on the job site goes to when they need to borrow something.)


Currently I'm doing residential work and have been in the trade for 5+ years and finding out that I'm the only one there who actually likes to troubleshoot and problem solve more than how some god ugly light fixtures will look after installing them, but I'm also not afraid to get dirty and do the jobs everyone else thinks is a PITA.


Someone please steer me in the right direction, thanks. :glasses:


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## Blue Sky (Aug 17, 2013)

It might help to know where you are located?

Instrumentation can be a pretty broad field so the ISA student membership might provide a good overview.


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

One way might be to go to work for a comm'l/industrial contractor and see if you can get on a service truck. If so, you can gain a reputation as a troubleshooter and work your way up from there. It takes time though.......

Instrumentation meters are $$$$$$$$$$$$. Most are company supplied but if you can get your hands on a 4-20 clamp-on and maybe a process meter, you'll be ahead of the game. I own both, the company owns the rest of them. 

This will take a while, no one is going to send an unproven guy out to install/troubleshoot/calibrate instruments and controls. It's a VERY specialized facet of the trade. 

I don't know if there are schools that specialize in this; I gained my knowledge by reading, figuring stuff out on my own and hands-on experience. I have no formal education at all.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

You wont require any special tools for E&I unless you are already a E&I and you have a brand preference that the company will allow you to use. 
That may sound weird but most company's do not like to pay to calibrate a meter that does not belong to them. 

If you was a E&I generally during the interview you can disgust certain tools that you fell comfortable with and they may allow you to bring your own in or purchase the same brand to keep you happy. My company has my altec serviced and calibrated once a year as its my preference to use a analog meter rather than a full calibration meter for trouble shooting. 

Due to some customization especially with hart protocol some tools may in fact be band as the last thing you want is someone with a custom set up that no one else has loaded on the company meters.

I honestly have no idea how you get into this trade. If you read the job descriptions and the required experience you will see most company's have no clue what they are asking for either. 
Must have plc experience including programming blar blar blar. Later they will add something like must be able to read ladder logic (if you can program you can probably read what you are programming). Then even further down they have something about "or 3 years experience". 
Its like they are hopeful that you will have all the experience in the world but if you send in a cv with everything they require they will call you over qualified for the pay scale.

Key words and bull**** can get you into this job. The keywords will come from many nights reading manuals (vfd, servos, motor wiring diagrams, plc basics) and asking google/people to explain certain parts of the manual. 
You will also have to have a very good understanding of the basics of electric theory including a true understanding of ohms law. 

There are plenty of electronics training aids including hands on circuit building projects that can teach you most of the stuff you will need to understand. The only difference between these training kits and real life industrial is the size of the parts. 

My favorite training aid is the arduino as its cheap and glitch which is a great place to learn about communication, inputs, outputs, ghost voltage, analog, interference, resistance, basic programming, etc.


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## B.Jenkins (Apr 14, 2016)

micromind said:


> One way might be to go to work for a comm'l/industrial contractor and see if you can get on a service truck. If so, you can gain a reputation as a troubleshooter and work your way up from there. It takes time though.......




Yeah, hopefully lucking out and working as a helper on service calls with someone who is willing to give me a shot at this. 




micromind said:


> Instrumentation meters are $$$$$$$$$$$$. Most are company supplied but if you can get your hands on a 4-20 clamp-on and maybe a process meter, you'll be ahead of the game. I own both, the company owns the rest of them.



Do you recommend the Fluke 771 Process meter? Anything more than $300+ is out of my price range.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

The fluke 771 is more of a toy used to trouble shoot a problem (very handy for trouble shooting as you dont have to break the loop). The 754 with plug in pressure sensors is the standard at most places i have worked.


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## Rora (Jan 31, 2017)

It's a tough specialty to get into and it's very rare to get a 1st year apprenticeship doing it because the knowledge barrier in order to be useful is pretty high. If you know someone you might get a shot, otherwise you're probably looking at a 2-year trade school. ISA membership is pretty useless, to be honest... it's basically resume fluff. You already have electrical experience, so your best bet is probably to try and pick up tasks related to controls, PLCs, etc. Hardcore instrumentation gets into the nitty-gritty of the sensors, valves/actuators, communications, control theory, etc. but you won't really use that until you get to really advanced levels, it would rarely be useful to entry-level techs. Don't underestimate your electrical theory/experience... that will help you solve a lot of the basic instrumentation problems and get your foot in the door to more advanced stuff.

I would not invest in any specialized tools until you have a very good idea of why you want any of them. At the end of the day, most of the problems I&C techs run into are essentially low-voltage electrical issues and can be solved with basic voltage and continuity tests. The vast majority of what we do only requires your brain, the ability to get the panel open, and a pocket sized multimeter (Fluke 107 is an excellent choice). Past that, you're taking things apart and want a good set of basic hand tools oriented around small part disassembly.

Here's my tool bag. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, 90% of my tools only get used for 10% of the problems I run into.

http://www.electriciantalk.com/f14/tool-bag-photos-3679/index209/#post4660754

The stuff on the bottom left of the last picture--multi-bit screwdriver, 3.5mm terminal screwdriver, small adjustable wrench, AA flashlight, pen+pad, and Fluke 107 (not shown) are what I carry with me and cover the vast majority of stuff. Difference vs. what you're used to is that you can do a lot more with a lot less, the most "install oriented" tools you'll ever need are crimpers and such, and everything is smaller... i.e., you can get away with a 1/4" socket set vs. the 3/8" most electricians would probably favor.

Best of luck and let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be glad to help.

edit: I should also add, instrumentation and industrial electrician are more different than you'd think. Instrumentation techs are mostly focused on automation, that is, measurement and control of anything and everything. Industrial electricians focus on high voltage supply with some discrete PLC/controls. An instrumentation tech could calibrate your distillation column control parameters, an industrial electrician could install your facility high-voltage switchgear, but probably not visca-versa... past that, they overlap a decent bit.


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## micromind (Aug 11, 2007)

B.Jenkins said:


> Do you recommend the Fluke 771 Process meter? Anything more than $300+ is out of my price range.



Lol.....The 771 is what I have as a 4-20 clamp-on. I use it a lot. As noted, you don't need to break the circuit but the clamp jaws are pretty good-sized and can be difficult to get a wire into. 

It only reads 4-20, it will not push current into an instrument. 

My process meter is an Extech CMM-15. It's an older unit that's not made anymore but it does everything I want. I use it mainly to test loop-powered instruments that are not connected to a source yet. It also works well with VFDs. 

The HART calibrator is owned by the company......BIG$$$$$$.


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

B.Jenkins said:


> I really want to become *an instrumentation technician or get into the industrial electrical side of the trade* but it seems there are very little entry level job postings online and I don't know where or which training program to get started with so in the meantime I was considering to just becoming a member of the International Society of Automation (should I sign up for the student membership or the standard membership?)
> . :glasses:


Up here that's 2 different trades, of 4 years each..


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## Blue Sky (Aug 17, 2013)

Interesting to see the variety of replies. 

I am in Canada and entered the instrumentation field through a two year Technologist program. You can also enter the trade directly through an apprenticeship but as mentioned those can be hard to land without some relevant experience. Not sure if you have similar programs where you are?

Completing our Technologist program allows you to challenge the apprenticeship exams and requires a reduced number of hours to complete an apprenticeship. Alternatively our Technologist program also allows you to move towards the engineering side as a Certified Engineering Technologist if you want to go that route.

As an apprentice I have been working primarily in oil and gas construction and maintenance so my tool requirements have been pretty varied. I supply most small hand tools and a Fluke 87-V meter and let my employer supply the larger tools and calibration equipment.


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## FTC (Oct 10, 2016)

I'm an instrumentation apprentice and can say doing the tech route is much easier if possible for you. Don't buy too many tools as they add up quick and depending on what you do your employer will supply you with anything expensive.


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

*Food and drug.*

Try to get into any food and drug company, in any position. Once in learn all you can and you will get a chance to move up. Trying to get a start is hard, start small and move into it. 


Also not to be a smart guy but change your location to a real place so people can help you better.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

just the cowboy said:


> Try to get into any food and drug company, in any position. Once in learn all you can and you will get a chance to move up. Trying to get a start is hard, start small and move into it.
> .



Thats good advice especially about joining a food company. 

If you can find a food company in the middle of no where they may be more than willing to train someone. It hard to get a E&I to move out in the sticks so there only option is to train someone then pay and treat them well so they dont leave.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

glen1971 said:


> Up here that's 2 different trades, of 4 years each..



Down here thats part of one trade because you will also be expected to be a expert in mechanical, engineering, operations, planning and a bunch of other jobs.


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