Employment Information
Outlook
Employment of farm equipment
service technicians is projected
to grow 7 percent, about as fast
as the average for all occupations
through 2024 according to the
US Dept. of Labor. Demand for farm
equipment repairers will be driven
primarily by the need for
agricultural products to feed a
growing population. In Southwest
Michigan, current demand for
agricultural technicians is high.
Farm equipment technicians typically work for farm equipment dealers and large corporate farms to diagnose, service, repair, maintain and overhaul the equipment sold by that dealer. Vehicles may include tractors, harvesters, and other heavy farm equipment in addition to dairy equipment and irrigation systems. A person in this field may also repair small machinery such as lawn and garden tractors or very old farm equipment if their employer offers that service to the public.
Due to the complexity of modern farming machinery, well-trained farm equipment technicians have become an indispensable asset to the agricultural industry. Farm equipment technicians use basic hand tools, precision equipment, welding equipment and power tools to service and repair combines, tractors, tillers, hay balers and other large equipment necessary for farming. Typically, a farm equipment technician works in a well-lit and ventilated service center provided by the farm equipment dealer; however, occasionally he or she may be required to assist farmers with equipment in the field.
Farm equipment technicians’ work varies by time of the year. During busy planting and harvesting seasons, for example, mechanics often work six or seven 12-hour days per week. In the slower winter months, however, they work a normal week. The median annual wage for heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians was $47,120 in May 2015. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $29,360, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $69,840.
Program Information
The Agricultural Equipment Technology certificate and degree are designed to develop service technicians for the agricultural equipment dealers across all major equipment makes. Students receive state-of-the-art technical training on the latest major brand equipment through a combination of classroom instruction, hands-on laboratory activities and supervised occupational work experience at a dealership if possible.
Is this for me?
Service technicians need good troubleshooting skills in order to determine the source of malfunctions. The job requires disassembling engine parts, connecting or attaching components and technicians need a steady and good hand-eye coordination. Technicians must possess good organizational skills and need to be able to lift heavy equipment, tools and parts without risking injury.
Classes for this two-year daytime, cohort program will take place at:
Burnips Equipment Co.
55232 Franklin Dr.
Three Rivers, Michigan
