Meter Readers, Utilities

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Read electric, gas, water, or steam consumption meters and enter data in route books or hand-held computers.
• 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.
• Update client address and meter location information.
• 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.
• Inspect meters for unauthorized connections, defects, and damage, such as broken seals.
• Answer customers' questions about services and charges, or direct them to customer service centers.
• Report to service departments any problems, such as meter irregularities, damaged equipment, or impediments to meter access, including dogs.
• Report lost or broken keys.
• Walk or drive vehicles along established routes to take readings of meter dials.
• Connect and disconnect utility services at specific locations.
• Verify readings in cases where consumption appears to be abnormal, and record possible reasons for fluctuations.

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• 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.
• 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.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• 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.

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:

• Dependability
• Cooperation
• Self Control
• Integrity
• Attention to Detail
• Initiative

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