All about the profession of an electrician for the repair and maintenance of electrical equipment

In the modern world, there are many different professions, and each of them is characterized by a certain type of activity, and a candidate for a vacancy must meet the declared characteristics and have the appropriate skills. So, for example, without professional training, a person cannot take the position of an electrician for the repair and maintenance of electrical equipment, since he simply cannot cope with the tasks set.

Let's take a closer look and figure out what the essence of the profession is, and what skills a potential applicant for a vacancy should have.

A profession such as an electrician for the repair and maintenance of electrical equipment requires special care and concentration, because in the work you have to interact with electrical elements, electrical circuits and other parts that, if handled negligently, may be unsafe for human health and life. It is not surprising that this working profession belongs to the category of especially dangerous professions.

In order for knowledge to be regularly updated and in line with changes in the field of technical progress, specialists need to regularly undergo training and retraining. Everyone can individually master any courses according to their personal desire, and professional retraining, which is carried out every 5 years, is also mandatory. In addition, large companies and government agencies are interested in the best specialists with a decent level of professionalism working for them, therefore electricians have to pass a kind of examination annually to confirm the quality of their knowledge in their respective fields.

This profession in modern society is especially popular, and qualified specialists are in great demand. This is because in the age of technological progress, it is impossible to imagine a world without electricity. The technical skills of specialists help to avoid interruptions and serious breakdowns, as well as to quickly eliminate breakdowns in emergency situations, returning businesses and the entire city to the usual course of life.

That is why experts in this field are full-time employees of almost any organization and help maintain the smooth operation of power grids.

The duties of the masters in this area depend on their qualifications, therefore it is impossible to consider this issue in general terms. Of course, there are various prescriptions and standard instructions, which set out the minimum of job responsibilities, but for a more complete picture this will not be enough, therefore it is necessary to consider all categories separately.

Specialists of the 2nd category should have minimal equipment repair skills, as well as knowledge in this area. They can do more complex work, but on condition that they are supervised by a more qualified specialist. Also, job responsibilities include:

• purging and cleaning parts of partially disassembled equipment;
• cutting, as well as splicing of insulations and manipulations with wires (stripping, soldering, bonding);
• disconnection and connection of equipment, as well as its maintenance within enterprises;
• performing simple carpentry and installation work required for the repair and maintenance of electrical equipment;
• check and further measurement of resistances of insulation, windings and cables.

Masters of the 3rd category can perform simple work at departmental enterprises, working by turning off the voltage with subsequent adjustment. They also carry out an audit of transformer devices, regulate loads on the power grid and perform some other functions. These include:

• installation of explosion-proof valves, its maintenance and repair;
• disassembly, assembly and participation in the repair of large electrical appliances;
• repair of simple electrical equipment;
• performing complex repair work under the guidance of more experienced craftsmen;
• participation in the laying of wiring and work with drawings;
• identification of malfunctions in electrical appliances and subsequent repair.

For an electrician, grade 4 tasks are more complex, and the range of duties that he must perform is expanding:

• under the guidance of a more highly qualified professional, disassembles and repairs absolutely any electrical appliances;
• carries out self-repair of devices of medium complexity;
• checks electrical equipment with disassembly and performs all necessary switchings on-line.
• carries out installation and subsequent maintenance of lighting systems;
• works with soldering elements;
• performs work according to diagrams and drawings.

The duties of an electrician of the 5th category are also broader.The main distinguishing feature is that masters of this level may already be engaged in complex repair work without the supervision of more qualified specialists. Their work activities consist of the following responsibilities:

• full service of units, the capacity of which does not exceed 15 kV;
• work with circuits and defects of complex devices;
• installation and repair work of cable networks;
• installation and repair work, as well as full service of devices with mode regulation of work;
• welding and stress handling;
• identifying vibrations and applying appropriate measures; and balancing some devices.

The area of ​​activity of the 6th grade master includes:

• overhaul and installation of devices with a capacity of up to 25 kV;
• personal and remote maintenance of production units;
• work with complex and experimental schemes;
• maintenance, installation and timely repair work on devices of varying complexity;
• carrying out various works with cable systems;
• repair and preparation of electrical equipment for further operation.

Masters of the 7th and 8th grade have a very wide range of activities. First, they have all the knowledge and skills that the masters of lower ranks have. Secondly, their work is more dangerous, responsible and complex, since their duties include performing functions for which the qualifications of other masters are simply not enough, for example:

• testing various technical units using high voltage;
• construction of protective structures for all kinds of devices;
• full service of power plants and devices with a capacity above 35 kV;
• carrying out especially complex tests of high-frequency installations;
• repair and installation work of increased complexity.

Obviously, the work of an electrician in the repair and maintenance of electrical equipment is quite complex and energy-intensive, therefore, for the quality of his work, a real professional must meet certain requirements, both concerning his skills and personal characteristics.

Personal qualities are very important already in the early stages of work, because based on them, one can draw conclusions about the professional suitability of the master and his ability for further training.... And although the professional standard does not include a detailed description of the personal qualities of a professional, many employers still pay special attention to this aspect.

A high degree of learnability will also help in work and contribute to career growth and improvement of skills. The point is that in order to master new categories, it is necessary to study, both in theory and in practice, a lot of new material, and not every professional is able to quickly assimilate knowledge and, moreover, learn to apply it.

Responsibility and quick response will help when working in tandem with craftsmen whose qualifications are lower. Since a more experienced foreman will be able to take responsibility for regulating the work, and in case of failure, he will quickly correct the error.

Restraint and stress resistance - sometimes these qualities are decisive when hiring an electrician for work. The thing is that this profession is so responsible and tense that unnecessary emotions can seriously interfere with the performance of official duties.

In addition, such qualities as punctuality, the ability to calculate time for work, an adequate sense of self-preservation, communication skills and the ability to make competent, balanced decisions are welcomed.All this will help not only in the process of work itself, but also in building trusting business relationships with bosses and colleagues.

The knowledge and skills that a real professional must possess are also differentiated by the ranks of his skill. But there are several basic ones that an electrician should have, regardless of his qualifications:

• possession of knowledge about the structure of various electrical equipment;
• knowledge of the main purposes of tools and the ability to handle them;
• knowledge of the rules and features of equipment maintenance, including repair and installation work;
• it is necessary to perfectly know the safety rules and be proficient in first aid;
• must have extraordinary knowledge in the field of electrical engineering;
• it is also desirable to know all the characteristics of materials, tools and devices with which you are potentially to work;
• knowledge about the device and the principle of functioning of power supplies is also an integral part of this profession;
• features of servicing electric machines of various types, as well as some experience in testing them;
• rules and sequence of organizational work that are performed to identify malfunctions with subsequent elimination.

Before getting down to work of this kind, you need to take care of your education, so that your skills and knowledge are up to date. It is worth initially deciding for yourself whether you want to move up the career ladder or whether you will be satisfied with a monotonous stable job. In the first case, you need to be puzzled by entering a higher educational institution, and in the second case, secondary specialized education is also suitable, where you can study all the basics.

Upon admission to any educational institution, it will be necessary pass entrance exams - mathematics and physics, as they are fundamental to further training, which, regardless of institution, will last an average of three to four years.

If on the Internet you come across online courses for electricians based on school education, you should not pay attention to them, since such a format for studying the profession is not provided. The thing is that for a better assimilation of information, it must be supported by practical exercises that will simply not be possible at home, and after completing such courses, the diploma is considered invalid. Distance education is available only to experienced craftsmen who want to improve their skills.

It should also be borne in mind that higher educational institutions will help you in moving up the career ladder, but they will not provide education in this particular area. In order to master the profession of an electrician, you should turn your attention to colleges and technical schools. Also, many large enterprises have a private practice of training future employees and pay special attention to this process, since they are interested in obtaining high-quality personnel.

As for career growth, everything is quite simple - novice craftsmen raise their rank, reach the level of a foreman, and then they can get a promotion to an energy engineer and take a leadership position.

There are two industries where electrical repair and maintenance electricians can work.

• Construction... The master deals with all issues related to electricity, including wiring, equipping rooms with light and power sources, and is also responsible for the safety of the entire system.The salary of such a professional can reach 65,000 rubles.
• Service sector... This work involves a full service of electrical equipment at various enterprises. The salary in this case is 30,000 - 35,000 rubles.