Discover a Career as a
Natural Gas Technician
with an Energy Contractor
Discover your career path in the energy industry.
Discover your career path in the energy industry and learn where your interests will take you. Contractors provide industry-leading energy infrastructure solutions to the energy industry. Explore the meaningful work in which you can immerse yourself, set your sights on what you can learn and the increasing responsibilities that can be yours. See how you will be challenged and what will you accomplish.
* Compensation averages should be used as a guide. There are numerous factors that impact actual compensation. These estimates do not include over-time, which can be a sizeable addition to base pay. Years of service and training recommendations should also be used as a guide. Company requirements vary.
Become a Natural Gas Technician
Starting off as a Field Technician / Laborer / Groundsperson:
What will you do?
- Provide assistance to crew by providing tools and equipment
- Make work area safe
- Drive equipment to job site
What knowledge / skills / abilities will you need?
- Teamwork
- Drive heavy commercial vehicles
- Be able to lift 75 lbs
- Listen and follow directions
- Come to work on time and prepared
- Be able to stand for long periods of time
- Math skills including algebra, trigonometry, and geometry
Apprenticeship Training:
What will you do?
- Understand fundamentals of Alternating Current/Direct Current
- Demonstrate ability to fuse plastic pipe
- Operate backhoes and other trenching equipment
- Identify components and maintenance of valves
- Assemble and secure pipe
- Identify the necessary steps for the manual or remote opening and/or closing of a valve or other equipment
- Use appropriate equipment to locate gasmains and services
What knowledge / skills / abilities will you need?
- Demonstrate skills learned in apprenticeship training on the job
- Dig trenches and make work area safe
- Understand the relationship of physical objects to one another in order to visualize how such objects act together
Equipment Operator:
What will you do?
- Operate power equipment such as excavators, backhoes,
and front-end loaders - Locate utilities and other buried lines prior to digging
- Inspects and maintains equipment
What knowledge / skills / abilities will you need?
- Define how the various parts of systems interact (e.g., parts of the distribution systems) and diagnose the effect on the system of changes or malfunctions in its parts
- Solve problems involving limited options by applying common sense understandings such as selecting the correct cutting tool or proper gauge of wire for a job
- Listen to and understand customer needs
- Estimate the size, length, or quantity of objects, as in selecting the proper wrench for a bolt, or choose the size of fitting required
Welder / Fuser / Fitter:
What will you do?
- Prepare trenches for laying pipes
- Lay pipes for gas lines
- Fuse plastic pipe together
- Install and repair both high and low pressure pipe systems
- Install automatic controls used to regulate gas systems
- Install and repair both high and low pressure pipe systems
- Install automatic controls used to regular gas systems
What knowledge / skills / abilities will you need?
- Same competencies as the Equipment Operator
Foreman:
What will you do?
- Determine schedules and work activities of crew members
- Check for unsafe work conditions
- Communicate effectively with others, including customers, crew members, and supervisors
- Deal with potentially stressful situations
What knowledge / skills / abilities will you need?
- People management
- Communications skills
- Assign priority or sequence to the steps for completing a job
- Coordinate several, competing activities for efficient use of time and material
- Adapt work procedures or priorities in response to changing or unforeseen requirements or conditions
General Foreman / Superintendent:
What will you do?
- Schedule and oversee work of crews
- Review crew member performance and provide feedback
- Prepare and manage budgets
- Report to management
- Support the development of teamwork
What knowledge / skills / abilities will you need?
- Financial management
- Computer skills for report preparation
- People management
Meet Darren, a gas distribution contractor. He explains the important work done by contractors and notes why this work is for those who like to be outside, enjoy travel, want to be engaged, value learning and appreciate challenge themselves. Learn more.
Darren Cookus
Gas Distribution Contractor