Across the residential and commercial service industry, the urgency increases: Businesses face rising demand for services, but struggle to find an adequate number of qualified workers.
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One estimate points to 3 million job openings in the skilled trades in less than seven years, due to retiring workers and other factors. The construction industry alone faces a shortfall of 200,000 workers, the Home Builders Institute reports.
Service companies must strategize how to fill the technician labor gap for essential services like electrical, HVAC, plumbing, water treatment, and countless others. One solution? Offering a competitive salary and incentives to attract and retain the best field service technicians.
“Everyone is talking about the labor shortage, and it's not going to get any easier, let's face it,” says Chris Hunter, ServiceTitan's Director of Customer Relations. “We're going to have to start finding these people, painting our mission or vision, where we're going, how they fit in, what it means for them, and build the bench.”
In fact, the service industry offers field service technicians a solid career: a steady job (despite pandemic difficulties), great pay, and plenty of advancement opportunities—without the hindrance of thousands of dollars of college debt.
Here's what you need to know about field service technician salary to make smart hiring decisions and grow your company:
What are field service technician job descriptions?
How much does a field service technician make?
What skills do field service technicians need?
How do you train field service technicians?
What incentives attract field service technicians?
What are field service technician job descriptions?
Field service technician job titles vary depending on the job and years of experience, but related jobs could include residential or commercial service technician, installer technician, installation and repair technician, or maintenance and repair technician, to name a few. Typically, field service technicians report to a foreman or service manager.
Advertise the right job description, including experience level and required licenses and certifications, so you can focus on the right field service technician applicants. Typical basic requirements include:
Valid driver's license
High school diploma or GED
Completion of a training program or apprenticeship
Proper licenses and certifications
Some positions may require higher education, like a bachelor's degree, or a certain skill set. Consider setting resume job alerts on job search websites to be notified when resumes meet your job criteria.
How much does a field service technician make?
The average field service technician salary relies on multiple factors, including industry service area, years of experience, and geographic location. A field service technician's total compensation includes base salary, benefits, and incentives like overtime pay or bonuses.
Find out the average base salary for your area using salary reports or surveys to get an idea of a competitive service tech salary range.
Industry service area
Service technician salary varies depending on industry. The national average for electrician annual pay is $56,900, while heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers earn an average salary of $50,590 annually, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.
Salary estimates for field service technicians in the pool or lawn care service industries are a little more than $30,000 on average, according to ZipRecruiter. Check job descriptions when searching for salary ranges of related jobs, as similar job titles can be advertised in healthcare, telecommunications, and information technology sectors.
Years of experience
Opportunities for advancement abound for entry-level field service technicians who show aptitude and perform quality work. Field service technicians with more experience typically land higher on the payscale.
Online salary reports show an entry-level field technician salary of $50,590, while senior field service technicians earn a median salary of $66,560 (with a small percentile earning up to nearly $80,000), according to Salary.com. In Canada, field service technicians earn an average base salary of $61,614 annually, according to Indeed.com.
Highest-paying cities or states
Ever wonder why a field service technician in one city makes more than in another? Some states or cities pay higher wages because of local demand for work, or because of a higher cost of living, the BLS reports.
For field service technicians, the top highest-paying cities are New York; Las Vegas; Midland, Texas; Houston; San Diego; Dallas; Phoenix; and Atlanta, according to Indeed.com.
Many online job search websites offer comparison tools, so a technician knows they’ll likely make more in San Francisco than in Portland, or more in Connecticut than in Kansas. Determine average salaries—whether electrical, HVAC, plumbing, or other service—so your company offers a competitive wage and attracts the best employees.
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What skills do field service technicians need?
Good field service technicians possess a blend of skills to perform quality work and create positive customer experiences. Besides technical expertise, field service technicians should exhibit traits and skills like:
Dependability
Problem-solving
Clear communication
Attention to detail
Efficient time management
A significant portion of a field service technician's job includes troubleshooting technical issues, actively listening to customers' concerns, and clearly explaining problems and solutions to customers. While every tech possesses strengths and weaknesses, hire for those qualities that matter most to your company.
How do you train field service technicians?
Training empowers your team by giving them the confidence and knowledge to grow. It benefits employees at any stage, whether a new hire or longtime employee, and shows your commitment to their success. Here’s how to do it:
Equip new hires
Josh Campbell, President of Rescue Air in Texas, found ride-alongs the best way to train, outside of leadership groups and online training.
“We hire based on attitude and people skills, so we’re already used to somebody not being plug-and-play," Campbell says. "I’m not hiring somebody who I can stick in a truck right away."
Ensure your new hires obtain a thorough understanding of your company’s processes and procedures. A solid training program is key to building great techs.
Provide sales training
When it comes to sales training, give techs the tools they need to increase sales and, in turn, revenue for your company. Teach techs how to sell in the field with mobile tools like ServiceTitan's Field Service App to streamline the sales process by showing customers clear good-better-and-best options on the job site.
Customers want to buy, not be sold, and tiered options give customers opportunities to make active choices, says Vanessa Gonzales, co-founder and co-owner of Albuquerque Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, who spoke in a recent ServiceTitan webinar on boosting profit.
Create managers from within
Training also works as a strategy to fill top-tier positions. If you hire the right field service technicians, training your current employees in leadership skills can transform them into great supervisors. Think long-term about employee roles to remain flexible and dynamic as your company grows.
What incentives attract field service technicians?
Employers who offer above-average salaries and other incentives benefit their business in more ways than one. Incentives not only attract and retain more employees, but it also boosts motivation, performance, and overall profit.
Top-generating service companies employ these methods to incentivize new hires or current employees:
Provide sign-on bonuses
Reward new-hire referrals
Offer performance pay
Build a positive company culture
Create an employee equity program
Today's technicians expect to receive a sign-on bonus, says Susan Frew, President of Sunshine Plumbing, Heating & Air in Colorado.
“We will do a $5,000 sign-on bonus, but we pay it quarterly," she says. "That guarantees, for the most part, they’re going to stick around for a year.”
Service companies may also pay anywhere from $500 to $2,500 for a new hire referral, depending on the position and how long the new hire stays. Or companies may offer employees bonuses for recruiting new techs with no work experience, then deliver larger payouts each year, based on the new recruit’s continued employment, Hunter says.
To keep track of employee bonuses and incentives, use ServiceTitan Payroll Software to track timesheets in real time and simplify customized pay structures. Offer the right pay and incentives to attract and retain field service technicians, so your service company advances and grows.
ServiceTitan Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and substantially elevate the trajectory of their business. Our comprehensive, cloud-based platform is used by thousands of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, garage door, and chimney sweep shops across the country—and has increased their revenue by an average of 25% in just their first year with us.
