Is there any need for electrical repair people?

[deuce42]

Hi guys,

For a few years I've considered a career in electronics as a career change. Particularly in electrical repairs.  I wonder though whether in 2019 there is enough of a demand?  With modular electronics and the fact that we live in a disposable society, does anybody ever go to their local electronics repairman to have anything fixed anymore? And where does one start on the journey to being a repairman for that matter?

Just for background here is my story: - I once was a successful lawyer. Then 4 years ago, at the ripe old age of 40, I was rudely interrupted by a stroke in the left hemisphere of my brain. No warnings, nobody knows why it happened, but there I was staring up at a hospital ceiling wondering what my life was about and how I got there. I've made a huge recovery, but whilst I can walk fine now and don't look like a stroke victim, the reality is my brain just isn't as sharp as it used to be anymore and my memory is shot. I get my words confused sometimes and that is just not a problem a lawyer can have. My other career was a musician and recording guy but that didn't make a hell of a lot of cash and curiously my legal career was the stable earning player in the dual career charade I played for a long time.

So 4 years post stroke and realising that:  a) I just don't have the high level brain power to work full time in law anymore; and
b) I'm probably too old to play the musician game and am aware of its earnings limitations, its now time to find something new that can work for me.

That brings me to the point of my post. My other love in this world is circuit building and has been ever since I was a kid. The circuits I built on this board in particular were remarkably good fun. So I've came to this point in life where I decided I would try to only work part time as a lawyer (like 3 days per week which is about as much work as my foggy brain can stumble through) and then work with my hands in electronics for two days per week - preferably from home. I decided maybe starting a business repairing guitar amps and things a couple of days per week would be a start. Then the reality came to me that there may not actually be enough of a demand for something like this. I also don't have any formal training in electronics and don't know where to start with getting the education I may need.

So I'd love to hear any of your views or advices about whether going into electrical repairs for a couple of days a week is a workable idea or whether you think I'm naive and stupid.

Any opinions or advice would be appreciated. Sometimes when we are too close to an issue we can't see things objectively so I'm keen to hear your views as outsiders with valuable experience and understanding

Thanks

 

[mjrippe]

Hi Deuce,

I had a loved one who had a stroke at 45 and, like you, made an excellent recovery but still had deficits.  It is very important to know your limitations and it sounds like you have a good idea of yours.  Of course working with electronics can have more immediate dangers than confusing a few words.

I work in electronics repair in Brooklyn, NY and there is definitely a need for more techs here.  I turn away work all the time.  I don't know how it is in Sydney, but being a major metropolitan area I would guess there is a market.  You could start by posting on Craig's List or the Aussie equivalent and see how many replies you get.  Tell folks that this is your second job or hobby and ask them to be patient.  Try it out for a month or so and see how it goes!

Yours,
Mike

 

[emrr]

I agree with Mike.  Give it a try.  Define a specialty perhaps.

 

[dmp]

Might be worth making a business plan. Not that you shouldn't try it, but might help you make it work out economically a little bit better.
Having done time and materials work, the business side of it is challenging.
People will want more for less.
Electrical repair is tough because the price someone will pay is usually capped by the replacement value.

 

[JohnRoberts]

It does not seem like a growth business where it would be easy or possible to make good living.  That does not mean there isn't enough work to support a part time gig.

Perhaps start talking to anybody already doing repairs to see if they need help. Do any major electronic gear importers have service centers in/near Sydney?

Who do studio call for tech work or repairs?

Just do it... Many repairs are pretty obvious (replace the burned up parts), some less obvious.

JR

PS: The last time I was in Sydney was almost 20 years ago... beautiful city...

 

[PRR]

There's no electronics "fixer" within 100 miles, and I don't think people miss it.

Oh, if my new oven fails GE will send somebody. May drive 6 hours for half-hour on site.

If a car or truck starter or generator fails, there IS a guy; but it does not look like a thriving business. And brute electricity not "electronics".

Let me propose an alternate path. It may depend on local regulations and labor practices. But there IS a steady business in "Electricians", house and business power wiring and devices. Many trade-school boys stumble on increasingly complex Electrical Regulations. You will think it is simpler than many business contracts and the law around them. Yes, house-wiring (I just did two days of it) is NOT glamorous work. Maybe 20 minutes of thinking and 4 hours of dropping %$#@! screws. But it has satisfactions. Moreover, as an older person with (semi-)clear understanding of Regulations, you can move into Electrical Inspection. Even my puny town nominally requires most work to be Inspected by a town official. My town, the Inspector is a part-time job for a gal who nominally works full-time in the big town on the island. The City the other way has a 3-person department for Code Enforcement, foundations framing wires and pipes.

 

[deuce42]

Thanks guys for your responses I appreciate it. I  guess its about having a bit of a think through and giving it a go. I also appreciate the electrical wiring as an idea.

I guess I only have one other question, how does one get education in electronics in general? I'm basically self taught and learnt by making little "kits" as a kid and learning to read schematics.  There clearly are holes in my knowledge and I'm guilty of making projects (even on this board) with a slight paint by numbers mentality.  A lot of the projects that are common on this board have become a total "stuff pcb, follow wiring layout, stick in enclosure then finish" approach.

It seems that the ways people learn formally are by studying some very serious and academic form of electrical engineering or in Australia there are technical apprenticeships etc. I feel that neither of them would suit me. Where does one become more electrically educated?

Thanks for your encouragement mjrippe, and EmRR. John Roberts I'm glad you enjoyed Sydney, please come back here whenever you like. DMP and PRR I'm grateful for your wise ideas.

 

[Scodiddly]

A fair bit of my paycheck at work comes from doing minor audio electronics repairs on site.  Lots of churches and schools with sound systems, some simple and others complex, where they need a tech whenever it stops working.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Thanks guys for your responses I appreciate it. I  guess its about having a bit of a think through and giving it a go. I also appreciate the electrical wiring as an idea.

I guess I only have one other question, how does one get education in electronics in general? I'm basically self taught and learnt by making little "kits" as a kid and learning to read schematics.  There clearly are holes in my knowledge and I'm guilty of making projects (even on this board) with a slight paint by numbers mentality.  A lot of the projects that are common on this board have become a total "stuff pcb, follow wiring layout, stick in enclosure then finish" approach.

The simple answer is by doing it (I am also mostly self taught with only one year of college).

The good news is that repair is an order of magnitude simpler than new design, because you know the circuit once worked, so the task is figuring out why it stopped working. Understanding the basics of how components behave and how to confirm they are delivering valid states, will go a long way to troubleshooting faults. 

Reading schematics and confirming nominal voltages is useful. If you encounter new or obscure devices we live in the golden age of information access where you can look up pretty much anything on the WWW .

Good luck...

JR

It seems that the ways people learn formally are by studying some very serious and academic form of electrical engineering or in Australia there are technical apprenticeships etc. I feel that neither of them would suit me. Where does one become more electrically educated?

Thanks for your encouragement mjrippe, and EmRR. John Roberts I'm glad you enjoyed Sydney, please come back here whenever you like. DMP and PRR I'm grateful for your wise ideas.

 

[mjrippe]

The simple answer is by doing it (I am also mostly self taught with only one year of college).

I agree with John 100%.  I dropped out of school to work in a studio 25 years ago.  I have learned more through hands on experience, talking to other techs, and reading than I would have from an EE degree.

 

[alexc]

Hi Deuce,

Glad to read that you are on the path to recovering from an ill health ordeal    I hope you have lots of maintenance-free time ahead of you.

Forties can  definately be a difficult period health wise, especially when one is professionally in fairly high stress situations day in, day out!

Speaking as an ex-EE with a similar story    , my opinion is to decentralise - reducing one's basic need for 'hard cash' is the key to happy living!  I was 'city', Sydney of origin, but with a good many years in central Europe too (1990s) .. 

I don't think there is much living to be made from elec repairs, even for the lucky few who have relationships with studios, and/or audio equipment vendors much less manufacturers  ..  or even  the 'well cashed' vintage audio home-studio types 

(they do exist and are great! but no so many alas)

Decentralise, here in Oz, and do some low end property endevours  ...  fixer-uppers at the 'low end' still do quite well away from major population centres downunder ..  people have to live somewhere, after all.

Then one can still indulge in the love of classic electronics as required  ...  and 'recycle' those classic parts used when the 'thrill is gone'.

Wishing you wellness going forward!

 

[iampoor1]

There is indeed a market for it (The majority of my income is from repair) but the hardest part is building a reputation/finding customers who understand what your time is worth.  If you dont already have a healthy list of people to reach out to, and a good sense of how much time projects beyond simple repairs will actually take....it can become very overwhelming.

As far a sformal education for audio gear/electronics repair....it doesnt exist.....atleast Ive never seen anything close!

 

[Tubetec]

As far as consumer electronics repair its game over , has been for a long time , I did work for a place like that for a while years ago , but now they simply  replace modules in high end smart phones , and apply special software updates from the manufacturer , Home hifi repair which was once a major part of their business is all but gone ,replacing batteries under warranty and cracked screens on phones tablets and laptops ,everything else goes in the bin .

Ive always been fairly niche ,music electronics ,mainly tube or throughole solid state ,in the demographic I live its barely got me by in the good times .

When I look back now I kinda regret not doing electrical ,like Paul said , its a banker , people will always require the service .
The day of prized possessions , like a vintage bit of hifi kit that adds a certain sparkle to the sound is totally wasted from the modern conciousness.

I was easily up to a course at technical college or even university ,but they had no interest in sound only shoehorning you up for the M(ic)  .

Theres no time like the present , if you really desire working in audio ,make it happen ,
I took a little diversion into electrical of late , for me kills two birds with one stone ,I learn about motors/generators ,welders ,gas and all the associated grease monkey work I never did before , and I get access to Essex magnet wire at trade ,made friends with the people on the job and it got me out of the house .

I could have went after the big money easy , and taken the cash , but that always comes with some moral dilemas , I have one friend ,straight A student from day one ,did law ,saw what an ass it really was ,went away to become a writer ,eventually reverted to human rights law , another who started out writer and became lawyer ,also in advocacy/rights . strange world .

I wish this place had existed maybe 20 years ago , Id have a whole lot more hunger and mental dexterity to learn , coil winding is like an endangered species in the modern  audio chain ,

 

[Whoops]

Hi guys,

For a few years I've considered a career in electronics as a career change. Particularly in electrical repairs.  I wonder though whether in 2019 there is enough of a demand?  With modular electronics and the fact that we live in a disposable society, does anybody ever go to their local electronics repairman to have anything fixed anymore? And where does one start on the journey to being a repairman for that matter?

I don't know about electronics in general, but at least in music related electronics there's need for Repairmans and people still resort to them, I find that there's more work than people doing it properlly in my area. I'm constantly being called to fix things and I'm just doing electronics as an hobby and I'm my carrer is as a Mixing Engineer.

Tube Bass/Guitar Amplifiers, Solid State amplifiers, vintage Keyboards, Hifi-amplifiers, Vintage music gear , I see people looking all the time for someone to repair these.

So at least for these specific units I can see a market for a repairman.

Saying this, PRR advice and idea is really good also, might be more stable as a career