Electronics technician
Build, test, repair and calibrate electronic equipment, with a meter and a scope in hand.
What it is day to day
- Assemble, solder and inspect circuit boards and the cables that connect them.
- Test boards and equipment against a procedure, record the readings and flag anything out of range.
- Troubleshoot faulty units down to a part, and replace it.
- Calibrate instruments and keep test stations working.
- Read schematics and assembly drawings, and work with engineers when a design needs a change.
The courses, in order
Each course builds on the one before. Every lesson runs in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
- Step 1
Electronics basics
A breadboard and a few parts, with one Uno blink at the start and no processor after it. What current, voltage, time and logic really do.
- Step 2
Digital logic and memory
Build logic from individual gates, then make a bit persist, count and move through a register.
- Step 3
Transistors and op-amps for real
Intermediate, after Electronics basics: the diode curve, biasing a BJT, common-emitter gain, the MOSFET as switch and resistor, op-amp gain both ways, comparators with hysteresis and split supplies.
- Step 4
Power and batteries
Where the volts come from and how to keep them: Ohm's law on a real meter, cells in series and parallel, a regulator, a LiPo on a TP4056, a boost converter, a battery gauge, and a power bank you build yourself.
- Step 5
Sensors and measurement
Intermediate: thermistors and RTDs, strain gauges in a Wheatstone bridge, light and IR, current on a shunt and an INA219, ADC resolution and noise, and calibration, finished with a power instrument you check against Ohm's law.
- Step 6
Read datasheets and schematics
The skill every hardware job asks for: schematic symbols, a first page, absolute maximum ratings, timing diagrams, register maps and pinouts, each checked on real parts. Ends with a sensor brought up from its datasheet alone.
- Step 7
AC, signals and filters
Advanced, after Transistors and op-amps for real: sine, peak and RMS, reading a scope, RC and RL filters, frequency response, RLC resonance and active filters.
- Step 8
Debug like an engineer
The multimeter, the oscilloscope, the logic probe and analyzer, Serial done right, and a method that finds any fault. Ends with a boss: three bugs in one circuit.
- Step 9
Breadboard to PCB
Take three working circuits from the breadboard to a finished board: the schematic, footprints, placement, routing, design rules, and what a board house needs.
- Step 10
Relays, contactors and motor control
Intermediate, the electrician's course: relay coils and flyback diodes, latching start/stop circuits, interlocks, three-way switching, timers and ladder logic, all at low voltage, finished with a start/stop station and an emergency stop you wire yourself.
- Step 11
Portfolio and interviews
Turn finished projects into a job search: choose and document portfolio pieces, share links that run, read job posts and answer technical questions out loud.
Your skills checklist
- Ohm's law, dividers, LEDs and the multimeterElectronics basics
- Logic gates, flip-flops and countersDigital logic and memory
- Transistors and op-amps, measuredTransistors and op-amps for real
- Supplies, regulators, rectifiers and batteriesPower and batteries
- Sensors and accurate measurementSensors and measurement
- Reading schematics and datasheetsRead datasheets and schematics
- AC, the oscilloscope and filtersAC, signals and filters
- A fault-finding method with meter, scope and logic analyzerDebug like an engineer
- From a breadboard to a printed circuit boardBreadboard to PCB
Projects to build and show
Open one, run it, change it, then share your version as a link that runs. The last course in this guide shows how to write each one up.
NPN transistor switch
Base and collector currents measured, the core of a thousand circuits.
Op-amp amplifier, gain of 10
An amplifier checked on the scope, input against output.
After Mokxi, in the real world
Mokxi teaches the skills; employers, schools and licensing boards set their own rules. These are the common routes, and they vary by place.
Training and education
- A common route is a one or two year certificate or associate degree in electronics technology or electronics engineering technology at a community college or technical school.
- Military electronics training is a long-standing route into the trade.
- Practice soldering on real kits. Many employers give a soldering or bench test during hiring.
Certifications
- Some technicians earn certifications from ETA International or similar bodies, such as an entry-level electronics technician certificate.
- Electronics manufacturers often ask for IPC training on soldering and inspection standards, and frequently pay for it.
- Neither is required everywhere. Check what the job posts in your area ask for.
Entry-level titles to search
- Electronics technician
- Electronics test technician
- Electronics assembler
- Bench technician
- Calibration technician
- Field service technician
Questions you may be asked
Short answers drawn from the courses. Say each one out loud, then check it on a circuit.
State Ohm's law and use it.
V = I x R. For example, 5 V across 1 k is 5 mA. You can rearrange it for any one of the three.
How do you check if a capacitor or resistor is bad?
Power off and discharge first. Measure a resistor out of circuit, or with one leg lifted, against its marked value. A capacitor meter checks capacitance; look for bulging, leaks or a short.
What does a diode do, and how do you test one?
It lets current flow one way. On the meter's diode test it reads roughly 0.5 to 0.7 V forward for silicon and open in reverse. Both directions open or both shorted means it is bad.
What is the difference between AC and DC?
DC flows one way at a steady voltage, like a battery. AC reverses direction many times a second, like wall power.
What is a voltage divider?
Two resistors in series that give a fraction of the input: Vout = Vin x R2 / (R1 + R2). Fine for a reference, not for powering a load.
What does an oscilloscope show that a multimeter does not?
The shape of a signal over time: ripple, noise, edges and frequency. A meter shows one averaged number.
What is ESD, and how do you prevent damage?
Electrostatic discharge, a static spark that can kill chips without any visible sign. Use a grounded wrist strap and mat, and keep parts in protective bags.
A unit is dead on arrival. Where do you start?
Look first (burns, loose connectors), then check the power path from the input: fuse, supply rails, regulators. Most dead units are power faults.
What does a filter capacitor on a supply do?
It stores charge and smooths the voltage, filling the dips between rectified peaks and soaking up fast noise.
Step 1 is Electronics basics
A breadboard and a few parts, with one Uno blink at the start and no processor after it. What current, voltage, time and logic really do.