Water for Schools
Menu

Career spotlight Grade 4 Careers & CTE

The Pump Technician Who Keeps Copper Ridge's Water Moving Uphill

A grade 4 career spotlight on a water utility pump and motor technician, following the daily work and the apprenticeship path into a skilled trade.

Objectives

  1. Students will describe the daily tasks of a water utility pump and motor technician.
  2. Students will explain what an apprenticeship is and how it leads into the trade.

Vocabulary

Pump
A pump is a machine that adds energy to water to move it or push it uphill, doing the job gravity cannot do on its own. Water systems use many different kinds of pumps to move water from wells, through treatment, and out to customers.
Apprenticeship
A way to learn a skilled job by working alongside experienced workers while getting paid. Water utilities use apprenticeships to train new operators and technicians.

Also: motor, technician, bearing

Teacher overview

Water does not flow uphill on its own. In the town of Copper Ridge (used here as an example), pumps push water up the hill and out to homes. A pump and motor technician keeps those pumps and motors running. This profile follows one technician's day and shows the apprenticeship path into the trade. This job is one water-sector path, next to the operator license, four-year college degrees, and graduate study.

The Pump Technician Who Keeps Copper Ridge's Water Moving Uphill — Grade 4 Careers & CTE
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________

Career Profile

A day on the job. The technician starts by walking the pump station. He listens to each motor for an odd sound. A worn part often makes a new hum or a rattle. He feels the pumps for too much heat or shaking. He greases the bearings so the moving parts turn smoothly. He checks the seals that keep water from leaking out. He looks at the electric panel to be sure the power is steady. He tests the backup generator so it will start if the power goes out. He writes down the pressure and flow readings. When an alarm goes off at night, he drives in to find out why a pump stopped.

How to get the job. Many technicians start with a high school diploma. From there, a common path is an apprenticeship. In an apprenticeship, a new worker learns from skilled workers on the job and gets paid while learning. The worker earns certificates in pumps, motors, and electric safety. Some take classes at a community college too. Over time the worker takes on harder repairs on his own.

Pay and job outlook. This job does not have one set pay number listed on the government fact sheet used for this profile, so no salary figure is given here. Pay depends on the utility, the region, and the worker's skills and certificates. What is clear is that utilities need new skilled workers. About one-third of water workers can retire within the next ten years. Only a small share of today's water workers are young. Because of that, towns like Copper Ridge are looking for new pump technicians.

Student Handout

Discussion questions:

  1. According to the profile, name two tasks the technician does each day.
  2. What is an apprenticeship, based on the profile?
  3. Why does the profile say it cannot give one set pay number for this job?
  4. The profile says utilities need new pump technicians soon. Use a detail from the profile to explain why.

From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.

Answer Key
  1. Answer: Any two of: listening to the motors, feeling the pumps for heat or shaking, greasing the bearings, checking the seals, checking the electric panel, testing the backup generator, or recording pressure and flow readings.
  2. Answer: An apprenticeship is a way to learn the trade by working with skilled workers on the job while getting paid, and earning certificates in pumps, motors, and electric safety along the way.
  3. Answer: Because the government fact sheet used for this profile does not list one set pay for this exact job, and real pay depends on the utility, the region, and the worker's skills and certificates.
  4. Answer: Because about one-third of water workers can retire within the next ten years and only a small share of workers today are young, so utilities need new technicians to take their place.

Differentiation

Support

Provide a labeled picture of a pump, a motor, and a bearing so students can match each word to a part before they read. Allow questions 1 and 2 to be answered with a short list or a labeled drawing instead of full sentences.

Extension

Ask students to compare the apprenticeship path in this profile with the operator license path they may have seen in another profile. They should write two sentences naming one way the two paths are alike and one way they are different.

ELL supports

Pre-teach "pump," "motor," "technician," and "apprenticeship" with a picture and a simple definition for each. Let students point to a part on the picture to answer question 1 if writing the words is hard.