#1 Person does routine repair and maintenence of small electric and
electronic items like recorders, melting point apparatus, stirrers, et
cetera; probably has a two year associate degree in electronics or
self-taught; probably makes less that $30K per year.
#2 Person fixes more sophisticated equipment like GC's, FTIR's,
other equipment that is analog and digital; troubleshoots to the
component level on power supplies, but probably only to the board level
on more complicated analog and digital boards; good solid electronics
guy, but may not have high level skills in RF electronics, and may not
be able to design non-trivial circuits from scratch, or decipher the
logic of complicated schematics. (Gee... sounds like the level of skill
some of us have...). Does not have a BSEE degree; probably makes between $30K
and $35K.
#3 BSEE type person with good RF electronic skills; able to
troubleshoot and fix NMR's to the board level with ease, and often to
the component level; can design circuits from scratch; has never been
stumped by a schematic yet; probably also has good computer skills;
probably makes more than $35K per year.
#4 Computer jock responsible for PC, Mac, and Unix maintenance and
repair, and also for system administration; the "go-to" person for all
computer questions in your department; sadly, probably makes less than
$30K.
I know that in most instances one person may be covering more than one
of these areas. Which of these people are integral parts of your group,
and which of them do you pay to use?
Steve Veysey, Manager
Chemical Instrumentation Facility
Iowa State University
sveysey@iastate.edu