An official State of Ohio site. Here’s how you know
Live Chat
Contact

Welcome,
New User

Geothermal Technicians

Perform technical activities at power plants or individual installations necessary for the generation of power from geothermal energy sources. Monitor and control operating activities at geothermal power generation facilities and perform maintenance and repairs as necessary. Install, test, and maintain residential and commercial geothermal heat pumps.

View All

    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Install and maintain geothermal system instrumentation or controls.
    • Install and maintain geothermal plant electrical protection equipment.
    • Install and maintain geothermal system instrumentation or controls.
    • Determine whether emergency or auxiliary systems will be needed to keep properties heated or cooled in extreme weather conditions.
    • Integrate hot water heater systems with geothermal heat exchange systems.
    • Prepare newly installed geothermal heat systems for operation by flushing, purging, or other actions.
    • Backfill piping trenches to protect pipes from damage.
    • Adjust power production systems to meet load and distribution demands.
    • Dig trenches for system piping to appropriate depths and lay piping in trenches.
    • Dig trenches for system piping to appropriate depths and lay piping in trenches.
    • Perform pre- and post-installation pressure, flow, and related tests of vertical and horizontal geothermal loop piping.
    • Calculate heat loss and heat gain factors for residential properties to determine heating and cooling required by installed geothermal systems.
    • Identify and correct malfunctions of geothermal plant equipment, electrical systems, instrumentation, or controls.
    • Identify equipment options, such as compressors, and make appropriate selections.
    • Determine the type of geothermal loop system most suitable to a specific property and its heating and cooling needs.
    • Collect and record data associated with operating geothermal power plants or well fields.
    • Maintain, calibrate, or repair plant instrumentation, control, and electronic devices in geothermal plants.
    • Test water sources for factors, such as flow volume and contaminant presence.
    • Install, maintain, or repair ground or water source-coupled heat pumps to heat and cool residential or commercial building air or water.
    • Maintain electrical switchgear, process controls, transmitters, gauges, and control equipment in accordance with geothermal plant procedures.
    • Prepare and maintain logs, reports, or other documentation of work performed.
    • Identify and correct malfunctions of geothermal plant equipment, electrical systems, instrumentation, or controls.
    • Operate equipment, such as excavators, backhoes, rock hammers, trench compactors, pavement saws, grout mixers or pumps, geothermal loop reels, and coil tubing units (CTU).
    • Maintain, calibrate, or repair plant instrumentation, control, and electronic devices in geothermal plants.
    • Design and lay out geothermal heat systems according to property characteristics, heating and cooling requirements, piping and equipment requirements, applicable regulations, or other factors.
    • Prepare and maintain logs, reports, or other documentation of work performed.
    • Install and maintain geothermal plant electrical protection equipment.
    • Apply coatings or operate systems to mitigate corrosion of geothermal plant equipment or structures.
    • Monitor and adjust operations of geothermal power plant equipment or systems.
    • Weld piping, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE) piping, using techniques such as butt, socket, side-wall, and electro-fusion welding.
    • Install, maintain, or repair ground or water source-coupled heat pumps to heat and cool residential or commercial building air or water.

    Skills

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Active Listening

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

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Complex Problem Solving

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

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    Knowledge

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    Career Video

    Video not available
    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 44100/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 21.2/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 5,390
    • Yearly Projected Openings 510

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Integrity
    • Adaptability/Flexibility
    • Initiative

    Tools

    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Air samplers or collectors
    • Claw hammer
    • Coiled tubing units
    • Compactors
    • Deburring tool
    • Desktop computers
    • Flash butt welding machine
    • Grouting pump
    • Land drilling rigs
    • Locking pliers
    • Logging instruments for water wells
    • Microcontrollers
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Pipe bending tools
    • Pipe or tube cutter
    • Pipe vises
    • Pipe wrenches
    • Plaster or mortar mixers
    • Pneumatic impact wrenches
    • Power saws
    • Protective gloves
    • Pyrometers
    • Ratchets
    • Respirators
    • Safety glasses
    • Screwdrivers
    • Socket sets
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Spot welding machine
    • Stripping tools
    • Track excavators
    • Wire cutters

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Geographic information system
    • Industrial control software
    • Office suite software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Budget Calculator

    Answer a few questions to determine your target salary. Use this target salary to help choose the right occupation for you.

    Lifestyle Calculator

    Answer a few questions to determine your target salary. Use this target salary to help choose the right occupation for you.

    Workforce Supply Tool

    Workforce Supply Tool

    The Workforce Supply Tool provides statistics for the occupations in highest demand throughout Ohio.

    You can view statewide statistics as well as more region specific information.

    Visit Site
    Powered By: