Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles
Install, diagnose, or repair communications, sound, security, or navigation equipment in motor vehicles.
Most important skills
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Critical Thinking
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Installation
- Equipment Maintenance
- Reading Comprehension
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Splice wires with knives or cutting pliers, and solder connections to fixtures and equipment.
- Diagnose or repair problems with electronic equipment, such as sound, navigation, communication, and security equipment, in motor vehicles.
- Inspect and test electrical or electronic systems to locate and diagnose malfunctions, using visual inspections and testing instruments, such as oscilloscopes and voltmeters.
- Install equipment and accessories, such as stereos, navigation equipment, communication equipment, and security systems.
- Estimate costs of repairs, based on parts and labor charges.
- Confer with customers to determine the nature of malfunctions.
- Run new speaker and electrical cables.
- Cut openings and drill holes for fixtures and equipment, using electric drills and routers.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate (47.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (52.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (46.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 89% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 50% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 54% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 50% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 92% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 69% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 78% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 67% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 10.66%
- Occasional contact with others: 18.27%
- Contact with others about half the time: 4.98%
- Contact with others most of the time: 23.54%
- Constant contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 24, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 15.55%
- Fairly important: 3.78%
- Important: 37.39%
- Very important: 9.32%
- Extremely important: 33.97%
n = 24, Incumbent 07/2016
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 6.65%
- Important: 17.07%
- Very important: 21.95%
- Extremely important: 54.33%
n = 24, Incumbent 07/2016
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0.97%
- Limited freedom: 14.74%
- Some freedom: 54.07%
- A lot of freedom: 30.22%
n = 23, Incumbent 07/2016
Time pressure
- Never: 1.24%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.74%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 5.27%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 29.6%
- Every day: 63.16%
n = 24, Incumbent 07/2016
Conflict situations
- Never: 1.11%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 35.23%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.38%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 21.32%
- Every day: 13.96%
n = 24, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 12.87%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 49.75%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 23.46%
- Every day: 13.92%
n = 24, Incumbent 07/2016
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 0%
- Fairly serious: 30.03%
- Serious: 25.55%
- Very serious: 20.2%
- Extremely serious: 24.22%
n = 23, Incumbent 07/2016
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O*NET-SOC 49-2096.00 · SOC 49-2096 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8