I'm in grade 11 right now in Northern Ontario and i'm having some trouble deciding what to do for a career, My mom wants me to look into a course for instrumentation ( mining and pulp and paper ) I have no idea what this job is like , all i know is that is in high demand right now and there a few colleges arpound me that offer coursses in it. If anyone happens to be related to the career or know someone who is and can spare some info , please help me out.

Thanks,
Richard

 

Instrumentation can be interesting. You can work with electronics, hydraulics, pneumatics, robotics - all sorts of stuff. I thought about getting into it at one time, I just like radios too much. Here's the ISA website. A good place to go for info: http://www.isa.org/template.cfm?section=Professionals_and_Practitione rs

My brother-in-law is a factory rep for an instrumentation company and travels all over Canada and the US. There's plenty of jobs out there. You're not just limited to mining and mills. There's power companies and natural gas, really, just about anything and everything high tech.

 

I am a journeyman instrument technician. I took a four year apprenticeship when I got hired on with Exxon at their Baton Rouge refinery. The apprenticeship was very rigourous in the academic sense. There was a heavy emphasis on chemistry, physics, electronics, and mechanical aptitude. The appenticeship started at around $12/hr and worked it's way up to just over $20/hr with almost unlimited overtime when I resigned in 1994. I have seen some very unique things working in the refinery and I learned a tremendous amount of knowledge that has carried over into almost everything else I have ever done.
I want to word this carefully as not to be slanderous, but I chose to resign after frequent chemical exposures, fires, explosions, and all manner of unintended industrial accidents. I went back into the instrumentation field a few years ago for Velsicol Chemicals. It was not long until I saw and experienced many of the same things that had happened to me during my refinery years. Pay at that time (2000) was about $22/hr. with all the overtime you wanted.
I have made more than some of the junior engineers that worked in my areas. I have also stumbled out of gas clouds with lungs full of acid gas. I have done hydraulic and boiler related work in some paper mills and factories and i do think that they would be more desirable than a refinery or chemical plant for my preferences. You must accept that when you work in an industrial setting that has it's own firefighting and rescue teams it's because accidents can happen. I have chosen not to put myself in that position again. I am the minority though because most of my previous co-workers are still there working and healthy.
Now that I have said the disclaimer let's get down to the nuts and bolts of instrumentation. The best summary that I can give you is that instrumentation is using technology to tell you what's going on inside a pipe, tank, reactor, etc.. This information is used by control systems that you will maintain. The control systems manipulate pumps, valves, and other control devices to keep the readings where you want them. The main things that you will measure and detect will be level, pressure, temperature, and flow. You will also maintain and check shutdown systems and all manners of automated equipment. You will work with 10 story tall furnaces down to 1/8" control valves.
One of the most appealing things about instrumentation is that it encompasses a VERY wide array of equipment and skills. You could potentially spend all your career maintaining a network of digital sensors and instruments, programmable logic computers, control valves, control strategies, project construction, etc. You could do any of these things in a refinery, paper mill, chemical plant, oil rig, or many other places. You will be expected to work closely with engineering types and even do some of your own engineering.
This job can carry alot of responsibility. The equipment that you work on is there to protect personnel, property, and the environment. When you calibrate something within 2% that may sound good, but 2% of a pipeline that flows 200K barrels a day yields a potential error of 4K barrels a day.
If this sounds interesting to you let me suggest the following. Try to get into an apprenticeship program. You can make good money while you learn and even if you decide that it is not for you, the knowledge is in your head and it's yours forever. Some areas allow Instrument Techs to join the IBEW, some do not. I would suggest joining the IBEW if it is possible in your area. This can give you many opportunities to work on the road and elsewhere. You will see many things and if you discover that it's for you, you may find an environment that suits your liking whether it be a chemical plant or a calibration bench.
I have many training manuals left from years ago and I will be happy to get them to you so you can get a better understanding of the field.
If I can answer any questions for don't hesitate to PM me. I'll try to be honest if nothing else. Sorry for the long post but I finally found a question I can answer.

Dan

 

Instrument Techs may be the most versitile hands on a job site, one of the best I ever met was a gal about 5-1, and as tough as nails. Working for Brown and Root a long time ago at th TEX plant in Longview.

As a Journeyman Electrician, C-1, I spent a lot of time with I T Journeymen. But what Dan said does apply, if you choose the field as a career expect to spend a lot of time in hazardous environments. It pays very well, and it can be very dangerous, esp if you work PetroChem or Paper Mills.

 

The work can be very gratifying. I worked in the calibration field for over 20 years. Most of my work was in a laboratory, a controlled environment calibrating electronic, dimensional, and physical test and measuring equipment. About half of the 'work' is paper, the other half the actual equipment. I also worked as an engineering tech at the same time, helping design measuring systems and equipment, a lot of technical writing of all types of procedures, certified ISO9000 auditor, and so on.

As for the area you are looking at in particular, I cannot say. I received most of my training through the U.S. Navy Metrology schools, then continuing on with an Associates degree in Electronic Engineering Technology and training classes offered by various test and measurement equipment manufacturers.

In other words, it's a very diverse and interesting field to get into! Just be versatile and flexible enough to take advantage of the different opportunities, and keep up with technology.

 

Whatever you do, find something that you like. Work at something that gives you pleasure. I have spent my life at a profession that I do not like, and have spent my life trying other things. The problem is that I realized too late what the trouble was, and I cannot start at the bottom of the pay scale at my age. So I am forced to do what I don't like for the rest of my working career. This is because my father pushed me into it. For this reason I have refused to influence my children in their choice of careers. I let them find their own way. I let them choose their way and then helped them anyway I could. It is hard at your age to really know what you like because you usually have to try it to know. So I wish you good luck and success at whatever you try. Follow your heart. You only have one life to live. Be true to yourself. Money is not the goal. And being a success is not measured in having the biggest house, the longest boat, or the most flashy job. In the end your life on earth will count because of how you treated others, and how you loved your family. Again good luck to you.

 

I started out as an Instrument tech in oil &gas and have been an instrument salesman for over twenty years. The Instrument techs always seem to bee good guys that have a lot of fun on the job. You can be involved in a lot of dangerous stuff as previously posted but techs are always in demand and always make good money. Plug the technology changes so you are always learning soemthing new . When I started everything was 3-15 psi outputs. There is still some of that out there but now everything is going digital.

I have travelled all over the country too.

Mike

 

I have no idea about the job prospects in Canada, but, being in the 11th grade with your future and health options wide open I just thought I would mention the base pay for a computer programmer is $43K a year up to $80k+ in the USA.

You might consider joining the military for at least a term, the experience can teach you many things you will not learn anywhere else that are best learned young.

 

Thank you all for your replies, your information will be a large benefit to my decision on my future career. I am most eager to travel and every where i go i hear the same thing as posted here that you must be flexible. I would , love a job that would allow me to see most of Canada and the US.

Once again thank you to everyone who replied , I am very grateful.

Richard
'76 f250 supercab custom

 

I think RNE touched on this, but most of the I&E techs I work with are journeyman electricians. I have worked 20 years in heavy industrial as a chemical engineer, and let me tell you a good instrument tech is hard to find. Most techs start out as electricians, and while there are some very good ones out there, many are just lost when it comes to the new digital instrumentation.

I guess my point is, even if you get your training as an instrument tech, you'll probably be asked to perform the duties of an electrician too. The I&E techs where I work also work on control valves, rebuilding them and fitting actuators to them. The larger the factory, the more likely you can specialize in one area.

 

I have seen the same thing that spikedog is referring to. Many times electricians are used to work with instrumentation. Both crafts require a very thorough knowledge of electrical theory and application.
IMO the difference is that the IT must also understand the physics and chemistry involved in what's happening in the pipe. Most good electricians are sharp enough to figure out how to make it work, but have not had the benefit of studying fluid dynamics, heat transfer, analytical technology, and things such as that. The digital stuff out there is quite incredible nowadays, but digital technology is just an extension of electricity and it's applications. Most electricians are plenty capable of catching on to that.
Understanding whether you're looking at an endothermic or exothermic reaction using flow rates and temperature is a bit outside of the basics of electricity. A well versed IT will also know the process that his equipment monitors and how the chemistry works. As an example one of the units that I worked with used an alkylation process to yield 2-2-4-trimethylpentane. Most of the other crafts in maintenance were not aware of that.
I'm not saying that an electrician can't do an IT's job. I am saying that most electrician training programs stick more to the electrical end of things, giving the average electrician less opportunity to learn these things.
Spikedog hit it on the head when he mentioned the size of the facility. A small facility may see a maintenance hand that breaks pipe flanges, rebuilds valves, maintains 3-phase electrical equipment, and designs control schemes and PLC programs.
A large facility may allow you to work with nothing but control valve rebuilding for 20 or more years.
Whatever you choose just do something. You have plenty of time to figure it all out and the more experience you gain in life the better off you will be.