Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
Install, repair, and maintain mechanical regulating and controlling devices, such as electric meters, gas regulators, thermostats, safety and flow valves, and other mechanical governors.
📋Key Responsibilities
- •Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made.
- •Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches.
- •Lubricate wearing surfaces of mechanical parts, using oils or other lubricants.
💡Inside This Career
The control valve technician installs and maintains industrial control systems—servicing valves, regulators, and control devices that process industries and utilities depend on. A typical day centers on control equipment. Perhaps 70% of time goes to service work: calibrating controls, replacing valves, testing systems, performing preventive maintenance. Another 25% involves troubleshooting—diagnosing control problems, optimizing systems. The remaining time addresses documentation and coordination.
People who thrive as control technicians combine mechanical skill with instrumentation knowledge and the precision that process control requires. Successful technicians develop proficiency with control systems while building the calibration abilities that accurate process control demands. They must achieve precise settings repeatedly. Those who struggle often cannot achieve the precision that calibration requires or find the industrial environments challenging. Others fail because they cannot troubleshoot the control logic that systems follow.
Control valve service represents specialized process industry work, with technicians maintaining the control systems that manufacturing and utilities depend on. The field serves refineries, power plants, and process industries. Control technicians appear in discussions of instrumentation careers, process industries, and the workers who maintain control systems.
Practitioners cite the technical depth and the stability as primary rewards. The control systems work is intellectually engaging. The process industry jobs provide stability. The compensation is strong. The skills are specialized and valued. The contribution to operations is critical. The variety of industries prevents monotony. Common frustrations include the precision demands and the conditions. Many find that calibration tolerance requirements are exacting. Industrial environments can be harsh. The process knowledge required is extensive. Emergency outages create pressure. Shift work is common in continuous processes.
This career requires instrumentation training and industrial experience. Strong calibration skills, control theory knowledge, and precision are essential. The role suits those who want process industry careers and can handle precision demands. It is poorly suited to those uncomfortable with precision work, wanting clean environments, or preferring simple systems. Compensation is good for specialized industrial instrumentation.
📈Career Progression
📚Education & Training
Requirements
- •Entry Education: High school diploma or equivalent
- •Experience: One to two years
- •On-the-job Training: One to two years
- !License or certification required
Time & Cost
🤖AI Resilience Assessment
AI Resilience Assessment
Low Exposure: AI has limited applicability to this work; stable employment prospects
How much of this job involves tasks AI can currently perform
Likelihood that AI replaces workers vs. assists them
(BLS 2024-2034)
How much this role relies on distinctly human capabilities
💻Technology Skills
⭐Key Abilities
🏷️Also Known As
🔗Related Careers
Other careers in installation-repair
🔗Data Sources
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