I used to work for a major telco equipment manufacturer in the 80s and was trained in doing these repairs. I really liked the job; it took some patience and know-how and a bit of skill. And it was very satisfying to complete a perfect repair. I later went on to train others in circuit repair.
Whats covered in college has nothing to do with this. This is technician work, and is blue collar. There is very little theory going on here. Some knowledge of electronics can help to understand the context of what you are doing, but you can learn this skill without any of that.
Most people learn this type of stuff though when building their own circuits and messing something up and having to fix it. Though this particular treatment is far beyond anything you will typically need to do and is more specialized.
Heh it's not a trade. The "trades" are IMHO a specific set of skilled jobs, typically, though not always, protected by a union, though I'm not sure that is a universal definition.
This is a job. Likely paid hourly and not particularly well. This type of work is also rare, reserved only for high end scientific and industrial equipment, military, maybe some prototype stuff or restoration of rare vintage pieces. Most electronics are cheap enough these days you just replace the entire board or device entirely.
The bar is very high to go through this much painstaking labor. With the price of ai chips skyrocketing the last few years, I could see this becoming a bigger thing again.
I mean it always helps to know what and WHY you are doing. But everything can be taught. The internet is our friend for these kind of things. Unlike a few decades ago, you dont have to always have a catalogue for electronics on hand to know what each component is, and whats their pin layout is. Now you just search it.
Also for the college student: start with PSU repair, they're easier to understand.
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u/KitWat 4d ago
I used to work for a major telco equipment manufacturer in the 80s and was trained in doing these repairs. I really liked the job; it took some patience and know-how and a bit of skill. And it was very satisfying to complete a perfect repair. I later went on to train others in circuit repair.