What Is a Field Service Technician?

Field service technicians are sort of like doctors for machinery. They go from location to location, treating their “patients,” which are actually complex machines that are responsible for many important functions in some of the world’s most essential industries.

Field service technicians work for a variety of businesses, from those in information technology to those in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR). They also play an important role in the wind energy technology field.

In wind power, field service technicians may travel across the country, working on big installation projects. They may also visit multiple locations in a single week, repairing wind turbines to get them back up and running so they can provide electricity to power grids.

This exciting field can literally take you to new heights when you climb hundreds of feet in the air to work on wind turbine technology. Learn more about what wind field service technicians do to see if the career might be a fit for you.

What Does a Field Service Technician Do?

Wind field service technicians work out in the field where giant wind turbines operate. You may have seen them on a road trip — they’re the huge towers with spinning blades. They’re responsible for taking natural wind energy and transforming it into electricity that powers homes, businesses, manufacturing plants, schools, hospitals and other operations.

Like any type of machinery, sometimes wind turbines malfunction or break down. They also need to be regularly serviced so that they operate at optimal levels and don’t malfunction. Wind field service technicians ensure they’re working correctly and fix them when they aren’t.

A typical wind field service technician job description might include tasks like the following:

• Install new wind turbines
• Maintain and repair existing wind turbines
• Inspect wind towers
• Test and troubleshoot wind turbine equipment
• Replace broken or end-of-life wind turbine parts
• Gather wind turbine data
• Work on other wind turbine systems, including wind field substations and underground transmission systems

Most of a wind field service technician’s work is on the wind turbine nacelle, which is the part of the wind turbine that has the electricity-generating equipment. The nacelle typically has a generator, brakes and a gearbox. Field service technicians need to have knowledge relating to DC and AC electricity in order to fix components like these.

Field service technicians go where the wind takes them. These types of positions are often travel friendly, since new wind turbines are being set up on wind farms all over the country and throughout the world. For professionals in this field, there are opportunities for both working in one location throughout a career, as well as traveling from job site to job site.

“When I was young, I loved traveling,” says Heath Barrington, senior project manager at Impact Wind. “It was really fun for me to see places in the country that I just never would have gone to if I wasn’t working in the wind industry. If people are wanting to change careers and wanting to get out of the norm of going into an office and want to get out and see the world, I would say the renewable wind industry is where to go, if you’re wanting that adventure.”

How Much Does a Field Service Technician Make?

Wind turbine service technicians rank as the fastest growing career in the United States (tied with nurse practitioners), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The growth rate is projected to be 45% between 2022 and 2032.⁶³

What is a potential field service technician salary? According to the BLS, the median annual salary for wind power technicians in the United States was $57,320 in May 2022.⁶¹ That means half earned more and half earned less. Keep in mind that salary depends on several factors, including experience, employer, demand and cost of living in the area.

How to Become a Wind Field Service Technician

According to the BLS, most wind turbine service technicians attend technical school to learn skills like wind turbine operation, energy industrial fundamentals and safety compliance. In technical school, students may take wind technology courses like:

• Math, OSHA-10 and First Aid
• Applied Physics and Precision Measuring
• Hydraulics and Pneumatics
• Advanced Electrical Theory
• Renewable Energy Sources

Employers may also look for skills like communication, since field service technicians need to communicate issues to clients and teammates. Wind field service technicians also need to be able to work with wind tools and equipment and have the physical stamina and strength to execute their duties.

Train to Become a Wind Field Service Technician

The wind turbine service technician career outlook is projected to grow over the next decade. As more industries get electricity from wind power, the need for field service technicians to work on the turbines that provide it also grows.

You can learn the skills you need to pursue a wind field service technician career in the Wind Turbine Technician program at UTI.¹ It is designed to take less than a year to complete and once you graduate, you'll be able to continue on the path toward a career in this exciting industry.²

To learn more about the program, request information. An Admissions Representative will get in touch.

Campuses That Offer Wind Technician Training 

• Canton, Michigan
• Houston, Texas
• Lisle, Illinois
• Rancho Cucamonga, California