Would I Make a Good Solar Panel Installer?
Solar photovoltaic (PV) installers assemble, install, and maintain solar panel systems on rooftops or other structures.
Employment is projected to grow 63 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations. The continued expansion and adoption of solar panel installations will result in excellent job opportunities for qualified individuals, particularly those who complete photovoltaic training courses at a community college or technical school.
Most solar panel installations are done outdoors, but PV installers sometimes work in attics and crawl spaces to connect panels to the electric grid. Installers must also travel to jobsites.
Although most installers need a high school diploma and typically receive on-the-job training lasting up to 1 year, some candidates take courses at a technical school or community college.
The median annual wage for solar photovoltaic installers was $42,680 in May 2018.
Do you have what it takes to join this fast-growing field?
Tasks
- Install photovoltaic (PV) systems in accordance with codes and standards, using drawings, schematics, and instructions.
- Assemble solar modules, panels, or support structures, as specified.
- Apply weather sealing to array, building, or support mechanisms.
- Determine appropriate sizes, ratings, and locations for all system overcurrent devices, disconnect devices, grounding equipment, and surge suppression equipment.
- Install module array interconnect wiring, implementing measures to disable arrays during installation.
Technology Skills
- Customer relationship management CRM software — Salesforce software
- Electronic mail software — Microsoft Outlook
- Enterprise application integration software — Extensible markup language XML
- Office suite software — Microsoft Office
- Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel
Hot Technology — a technology requirement frequently included in employer job postings.
Knowledge
- Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Design — Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- 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.
Skills
- Installation — Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Abilities
- Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Visualization — The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Work Activities
- Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
- Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
- Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.