Which jobs involve test electrical circuits or components for proper functioning?

16 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity, including Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers, Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics, Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers, Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers, Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment.

What kind of work is this?

It is physical, manual and inspection work. O*NET files it under the work activity "Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials" (element 4.A.1.b.2).

Test electrical circuits or components for proper functioning

Little of this can be handed to software today.

This happens in the physical world, so software agents do not touch it. Automation here means robotics and machinery, which is a different market from the one mapped on this site, on a much slower clock.

Key facts about this work activity
How automatable	Barely automatable
Kind of work	Physical, manual and inspection work
Jobs that do it	16 occupations
Tool categories that apply	None
O*NET activity	Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (4.A.1.b.2)

What this looks like on the job

Not our paraphrase. These are real task statements recorded against this activity, spread across the 16 occupations that perform it.

Test components or circuits of faulty equipment to locate defects, using oscilloscopes, signal generators, ammeters, voltmeters, or special diagnostic software programs.
Test batteries, using hydrometers and ammeters, and charge batteries as necessary.
Test circuits and components of malfunctioning telecommunications equipment to isolate sources of malfunctions, using test meters, circuit diagrams, polarity probes, and other hand tools.
Test battery charges, and replace or recharge batteries as necessary.
Reassemble and test equipment after repairs.
Test insulators and bushings of equipment by inducing voltage across insulation, testing current, and calculating insulation loss.
Calibrate and test equipment, and locate circuit and component faults, using hand and power tools and measuring and testing instruments such as resistance meters and oscilloscopes.
Test and repair circuits and sensors, following wiring and system specifications.
Test electronic computer components in automobiles to ensure proper operation.
Test and replace electrical components and wiring, using test meters, soldering equipment, and hand tools.
Test electrical circuits or components for continuity, using electrical test equipment.
Trace electrical circuits, following diagrams, and conduct tests with circuit testers and other equipment to locate shorts and grounds.
Test conductors, according to electrical diagrams and specifications, to identify corresponding conductors and to prevent incorrect connections.
Test and replace batteries and other electronic components.
Test electrical components of wind systems with devices, such as voltage testers, multimeters, oscilloscopes, infrared testers, or fiber optic equipment.
Inspect and test operation, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings, signals, and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors.
Tighten loose bolts, using wrenches, and test circuits and connections by opening and closing gates.

What we would actually use

Nothing in our landscape addresses this work. That is the honest answer rather than a padded list: this activity needs a person present, or a machine rather than a software agent.

Our pickBuy nothing

Nothing on this site applies. Automation here is robotics and machinery, a different market on a much slower clock, and no software subscription moves it.

Chosen for the cheapest thing that does the job, not the best funded. Nothing on this site is sponsored, and the full landscape is there when you want to disagree with us.

How people actually do it

No workflow names this activity yet, but these automate the same kind of work, with the prompts to paste and what to keep for yourself.

Research an account firstGenerate a one-page account brief before every call so you spend the meeting on what matters, not what Google already knows.Sales · 8 steps Answer inbound leads in a minuteAcknowledge every form submission in under sixty seconds and ask one qualifying question while you sleep.Sales · 9 steps

Who does this work

16 occupations in the O*NET database perform this activity. Each one has a full breakdown of its other tasks.

Work that goes with it

O*NET groups these under “Test performance of equipment or systems”. In practice they tend to be done by the same person, in the same sitting.

Related work activities
Activity	Jobs
Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment	30
Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning	29
Test electrical equipment or systems to ensure proper functioning	21
Conduct test runs of production equipment	16
Test mechanical systems to ensure proper functioning	8
Measure equipment outputs	6
Test communications equipment to ensure proper functioning	3
Test performance of aircraft equipment	3

Method. The activity, its taxonomy placement and the occupations that perform it come straight from the public-domain O*NET 30.3 database. The automatability band is ours: we map each of O*NET’s 41 generalized work activities to how much of its output current software can produce, assuming a person still reviews and owns the result. It is a coarse three-way judgment on purpose. A precise-looking percentage here would be invented.