Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · Holland code RCI

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.

Also called: I C and E Technician (Instrumentation, Control, and Electrical Technician), Operations and Maintenance Technician (O and M Technician), Operations Technician, Plant Technician, Geothermal Service Technician, I and C Technician (Instrument and Controls Technician), I and E Technician (Instrumentation and Electrical Technician), Operator Technician.

O*NET 49-9099.01

At a glance

US median annual pay: $49,230; Middle half earn $42,170 to $61,900. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 66% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Adjust power production systems to meet load and distribution demands.
Monitor and adjust operations of geothermal power plant equipment or systems.
Prepare and maintain logs, reports, or other documentation of work performed.
Identify and correct malfunctions of geothermal plant equipment, electrical systems, instrumentation, or controls.
Collect and record data associated with operating geothermal power plants or well fields.
Maintain electrical switchgear, process controls, transmitters, gauges, and control equipment in accordance with geothermal plant procedures.
Calculate heat loss and heat gain factors for residential properties to determine heating and cooling required by installed geothermal systems.
Maintain, calibrate, or repair plant instrumentation, control, and electronic devices in geothermal plants.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Monitoring3.8 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.3 / 5
Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5
Active Listening3.0 / 5
Writing3.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Mechanical4.4 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Physics3.7 / 5
Education and Training3.6 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.4 / 5
Chemistry3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic90
Investigative41
Artistic0
Social11
Enterprising13
Conventional67

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

thermal engineer · DE Ingenieur Wärmetechnik/Ingenieurin Wärmetechnik · FR ingénieur thermicien/ingénieure thermicienne
hydropower technician · DE Wasserkraftwerkstechniker/Wasserkraftwerkstechnikerin · FR technicien en hydroélectricité/technicienne en hydroélectricité
power production plant operator · DE Steuerer von Energieerzeugungsanlagen/Steuerin von Energieerzeugungsanlagen · FR conducteur d’installations de production d’énergie/conductrice d’installations de production d’énergie
fossil-fuel power plant operator · DE Steuerer von mit fossilen Brennstoffen betriebenen Kraftwerken/Steuerin von mit fossilen Brennstoffen betriebenen Kraftwerken · FR conducteur/conductrice d’installation de production d’énergie fossile
geothermal power plant operator · DE Steuerer von Geothermiekraftwerken/Steuerin von Geothermiekraftwerken · FR conducteur/conductrice d’installations de production d’énergie géothermique
power plant control room operator · DE Steuerer Kraftwerksleitstand/Steuerin Kraftwerksleitstand · FR opérateur salle de contrôle en production d’énergie/opératrice salle de contrôle en production d’énergie

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Quantity surveyors (2453)45,300 employed
Electricians and electrical fitters (5241)193,000 employed
Engineering professionals n.e.c. (2129)124,800 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.59. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (49-9099).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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