Photonics Technicians

Also Called:

Fiber Optics Instructor,

Laser Technician (Laser Tech),

Optics Technician (Optics Tech),

Photonics Technician (Photonics Tech)

What they do: Build, install, test, or maintain optical or fiber optic equipment, such as lasers, lenses, or mirrors, using spectrometers, interferometers, or related equipment.

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Manufacturing

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Compute or record photonic test data.
  • Maintain clean working environments, according to clean room standards.
  • Adjust or maintain equipment, such as lasers, laser systems, microscopes, oscilloscopes, pulse generators, power meters, beam analyzers, or energy measurement devices.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Cooperation

Integrity

Persistence

Analytical Thinking

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Conventional

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Investigative

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Engineering and Technology

  • Product and service development

  • Computers and electronics

Math and Science

  • Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics

  • Physics

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Manufactured or Agricultural Goods

  • Manufacture and distribution of products

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Listen and understand what people say

  • Read and understand what is written

Hand and Finger Use

  • Put together small parts with your fingers

  • Hold or move items with your hands

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

  • Order or arrange things

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Reading work related information

  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Support

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Independence

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop