Meter Readers, Utilities

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Perform preventative maintenance or minor repairs on meters.
• Leave messages to arrange different times to read meters in cases in which meters are not accessible.
• Upload into office computers all information collected on hand-held computers during meter rounds, or return route books or hand-held computers to business offices so that data can be compiled.
• Read electric, gas, water, or steam consumption meters and enter data in route books or hand-held computers.
• Update client address and meter location information.
• Report to service departments any problems, such as meter irregularities, damaged equipment, or impediments to meter access, including dogs.
• Report lost or broken keys.
• Inspect meters for unauthorized connections, defects, and damage, such as broken seals.
• Verify readings in cases where consumption appears to be abnormal, and record possible reasons for fluctuations.
• Answer customers' questions about services and charges, or direct them to customer service centers.
• Answer customers' questions about services and charges, or direct them to customer service centers.
• Connect and disconnect utility services at specific locations.
• Verify readings in cases where consumption appears to be abnormal, and record possible reasons for fluctuations.
• Walk or drive vehicles along established routes to take readings of meter dials.

Skills

• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.

Abilities

• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

Knowledge

• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• 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.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Education

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

67240/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

32.33/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

910

Yearly Projected Openings

90

Personality

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Integrity

Tools

• Automobiles or cars
• Desktop computers
• Digital cameras
• Flashlight
• Gas gauges
• Global positioning system GPS receiver
• Laser fax machine
• Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
• Mobile phones
• Multi gas monitors
• Multimeters
• Nut drivers
• Photocopiers
• Pocket calculator
• Portable data input terminals
• Power blowers
• Power meters
• Radio receivers
• Remote automatic meter reading system
• Screwdrivers
• Shovels
• Slip or groove joint pliers
• Tablet computers
• Two way radios
• Water meters
• Water pumps

Technology

• Accounting software
• Charting software
• Data base reporting software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Geographic information system
• Industrial control software
• Map creation software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet software
• Word processing software