Rummaging through available jobs in the want ads, you have come across employment opportunities as a field service technician. You know the job has something to do with technology, and something to do with working outside an office, but other than that, you do not know what it is. If you are seriously considering applying for a field service technician position, here is what it means to be one and what the job entails.

Knowing Enough About Technology 

Field service technicians have to know a little about electricity, and a whole lot more about internet and cable TV connections. You would have to know and understand the differences among cable access, satellite access, fiber optic access and DSL/ADSL (Direct Service Line) access. You would also have to know how your employer delivers services--are they all via one line into the home, like fiber optic access, or are they separate lines via a coax cable and phone line? Some things you will learn in your training, but before you can get to the on-the-job training, you have to get past the interview by showing you know a thing or two about the technology you will be called to service.

Responding to Service Calls

When customers call in and have complaints that their internet or TV services are not working, the problem is resolved one of two ways. If it cannot be resolved via the phone representative's instructions to the customer, then a service call is scheduled. Your job as a field service technician is to fix the problem on site when it could not be fixed remotely. Service calls are almost always scheduled as a result of the company's previous contact with the customer, but you might also have emergency service calls from areas where the power or service cables have been struck down because of the weather.

Hours and Shifts You Will Be Expected to Work

Usually most field service technicians begin work in the morning, just before the company's offices open for the day. You may work twelve-hour days, possibly more if you run into some technical problems that take longer than expected to complete. There is also the high probability that you will be called back into work for emergency situations after you have already punched out for the day.

Most employers looking to hire field service technicians will advertise certain hours or a specific shift, e.g., first shift or second shift, but you may be working outside the hours and shifts you are scheduled, especially if other field service technicians call in sick or do not show up for work. Their work tickets are then divided up among the remaining technicians such that customers still get the service they were promised.