Elevator Technician

An Elevator Technician builds, installs, and maintains moveable transportation within buildings. That means you not only work on elevators and escalators, but can also help out with chairlifts, dumbwaiters, or moving walkways.

As an Elevator Technician, you can specialize in one specific area of elevator care. And your day-to-day tasks depend on what area you focus on. Say you install new elevators. The first thing you do is study the building’s blueprints. This lets you plan how you’ll install the steel track, electric wires, and the car itself. As an Elevator Technician, you put together the walls, ceiling, and doors of the elevator, then install the button panels and make sure they’re correctly hooked up and working. There are different types of elevators, so you need to be able to weld on steel rails or install hydraulic pumps, whatever the individual building calls for. You do the same thing with escalators, putting in the electronic stairs, laying tracks, and installing motors.

The repair of an elevator or escalator requires some knowledge of electricity and electronics. Today, most elevators and escalators are controlled by computers, so you need to know how to reset and troubleshoot malfunctioning software. You can also use the elevator’s computer to run diagnostic tests and ensure everything is working correctly. In addition, you replace broken or worn parts, oil machinery, and rewire buttons as necessary. You also get called out to do emergency repairs, clean the elevator, or replace the aesthetic parts of the machine.