a field technician at work
Arūnas Eitutis | 12 August 2021

What Is A Field Technician And What’s Their Role In A Field Service Business?

The field service technician job has been long characterized by manual work and slow working tools. As businesses are striving for modernization, field automation systems, and employing digital tools such as cloud field service management software, the sector is still crippled at helping its most prized asset: the field service technician.

What Does a Field Service Technician Do? 

A field service technician attends to onsite customer service requests. Their job ranges from identifying the nature of the problem/issue all the way to resolving it. These problems are usually technical problems and involve the installation, programming, troubleshooting, maintenance, and repairs of equipment, machinery, electronics, telecoms, or appliances. 

The field service technician will usually drive to different client locations and offer proper solutions that speak to customer needs. Field visits are what make the field service technician job and workflow so challenging, calling for a wide range of skills.

Field Service Technician

A field service technician attends to onsite customer service requests. Their job ranges from identifying the nature of the problem/issue all the way to resolving it.

Apart from resolving an issue, field service technicians are sometimes tasked with training a client’s maintenance team on how to perform some of the installation and maintenance tasks themselves. Customer satisfaction is at the core of the field service technician job description and there are several key competencies that are necessary to achieve that. 

The most important skills for the field service technician job are communication, customer support, analytical thinking, computer and mechanical skills, and physical well-being. As customer assistance becomes more crucial in today’s service sector, your team needs to be able to communicate with clients and react quickly to their issues and requests. 

Despite the required skills, a competent worker has to show proficiency in:

  • Installing equipment
  • Producing detailed service reports
  • Troubleshooting and repairing equipment
  • Logging calls and data
  • Demonstrating how the equipment works to clients
  • Handling company vehicle

Field Service Technicians: Empowering Their Career

The success of a service technician is directly correlated to their employers. Setting the proper protocols in place and providing the technical team with the tools they need to succeed is critical. Senior management needs to show commitment and buy-in to the changing needs of the industry. A field service technician’s job is no longer limited to maintaining equipment, fixing errors, or repairing machines. 

Service technicians now have to juggle between responsibilities,  build positive relationships with customers, and offer proper solutions. Their job role has expanded, and with more responsibility, there is a need for more investment in the workforce. Employers need to provide technicians with opportunities for more training, education, and expanding their knowledge and skills. 

The narrative on the field service technician jobs needs to change – it’s no longer a job but a career. 

Now it’s not enough to know how to solve occurring issues in the field – a competent employee also has to understand how to work with various software and systems. Moreover, as more and more companies are striving for the digitized workforce and technologies like artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and machine learning are rising, computer literacy is a skill in demand for such workers. 

However, it doesn’t end there.

How Much Does a Field Service Technician Make?

Although the skills and required expertise can be challenging, field service technicians can make a comfortable living. Of course, the salary range depends on the industry and market, but field technicians get high compensation and additional benefits. PayScale data shows that internationally, the salary estimate of a field technician is up to 19.61 USD per hour.

To become a field service technician, you don’t have to spend many years in university, writing research papers, or even a high school diploma- you only need to get a certificate and the ability to turn knowledge into action. Then, you can take training classes or courses and obtain a certificate showing that you’re licensed to work in the desired field in a few months. 

Don’t forget that the field service technician job is predicated on the ability to resolve technical problems and 

Digitized Business Operation Management

Suppose you’re a team leader or a business owner who seeks to prosper in the current market. In that case, you should find the best talents and implement the latest automation trends in your business. Field service management software is one of the leading solutions in the current market. It automates business operations, digitizes manual processes, eliminates human mistakes, and saves time. 

Frontu is a top field service management software in the Baltics region, and we aim to assist companies on their way to modernization. 

Our cloud-based software enables managers and technicians to track tasks, manage operations and routes, and be on top of all field business processes.

Frontu also provides:

  • Digital signatures and client satisfaction evaluation
  • Drawing images to define issues better
  • Working in offline mode
  • Clients’ comments, reviews, and comprehensive reports 

Sounds like something your business needs? Visit us and learn more about business success.

The field service technician job is on the rise. Whether you’re are looking for ways to enter the job market or searching for professional workers to enhance your workforce, it’s always helpful to know about the market trends and work towards a better and modernized future.

Arūnas Eitutis
Founder & CEO

Arūnas is spearheading the Frontu efforts as the company’s CEO but still finds the time to share some of his knowledge, expertise and experience in the FSM sector through our blog.

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