All careers have their ups and downs—and if you're an elevator installation and repair technician, that's exactly how you want things. It's your job to ensure the more literal ups and downs work correctly to facilitate those metaphorical career peaks and valleys.

Most people never consider how an elevator operates, they just expect it to be available and fully functioning every time they need it. But you, wise elevator technician? Oh no, you get it. 

The mixture of mechanical and electrical components keeps your brain buzzing excitedly as you install and tinker. This is a job that's not limited to, but is a great fit for, those who love to get down to the nitty-gritty when it comes to mechanical systems.

 

Gilded Age beauty outside, modern-day technology inside. (Source)

And here's more good news if you're excited to understand how things work: some elevator repairers are trained through apprenticeships, so you get to learn by doing. A couple of years or so of on-the-job training and your career will be going in one direction. You guessed it: up.

Another thing that'll be going up is the number of dollars in your bank account. The average elevator installation and repair technician makes an average salary of almost $80,000 per year (source). Elevators are one of the more ubiquitous and relied-upon mechanical systems in use today; it pays to know how they work and how to fix them.

Becoming an elevator technician may involve a two- to four-year apprenticeship, for which you'd work with an established crew to gain hands-on experience. If you're not a kinetic learner, you may choose a specialized associate's degree program to get in on the ground floor. Either way, this is one career that won't let you down, because the growth rate is expected to, ahem, rise pretty quickly over the next several years (source).

 

Be wary of people trapped in tight spaces. (Source)

As an elevator technician, most of your work day (or night) will be spent doing routine maintenance and checking the various vital parts for wear and tear. It's much better to routinely repair and replace than it is to try to free a group of stuck riders—who might, in their isolation, descend into Lord of the Flies-like power struggles. You never know what you'll find behind those doors.

In the age of the high-rise, elevators are a necessity to get up and down tall structures in a timely manner. Sure, it's a good idea to take the stairs sometimes, but it's not always possible or practical. With your mechanical and electronics repair skills, you make it possible for those with health issues or disabilities to get to the same places as everyone else. That's a pretty uplifting perk of the job, right?

It's also a good idea for an  elevator technician to develop good customer service skills, because most other people probably won't be as comfortable as you'll be with phrases like "malfunctioning elevator." At best, a malfunctioning elevator is scary. At worst, they can be deadly. 

So it's easy to understand why people in this career need the ability to communicate calmly with people stuck inside a non-working elevator. Tense situations call for rational, methodical, and extremely professional behavior on your part.

Oh and that routine maintenance we mentioned earlier? Keep up with that and you'll likely avoid having to deal with the minor panic that breaks out in broken elevators. It'll save you time and allow for solutions to present themselves much more easily. And for someone fascinated with simple, efficient mechanics, that's the route of choice.

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