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Diesel Technician

Technicians and Trades WorkersUsually a trade certificate or similar, or several years of experience

What the work is

Maintains, tests and repairs diesel motors, and the mechanical parts of trucks, buses and heavy and lightweight vehicles with diesel engines. These mechanical parts include transmissions, suspension, steering and brakes.

Would you enjoy the work?

These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.

  • Inspects diesel motors in heavy and lightweight vehicles, and mechanical parts to identify faults and determine repair requirements
  • Tests and diagnoses faults in diesel motors and mechanical systems using electronic diagnostic equipment, and interprets findings
  • Dismantles and removes engine assemblies, transmissions, steering mechanisms and other components, and checks parts
  • Repairs or replaces worn and faulty parts by welding, bolting, riveting or soldering
  • Reassembles engine components and installs repaired engines in vehicles
  • Adjusts and repairs electrical and mechanical systems such as ignition, fuel injection, and cooling and lubrication systems
  • Tests and adjusts mechanical systems after repairs and servicing
  • Performs routine maintenance such as changing oil, checking batteries, and lubricating equipment and machinery

Try it

A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a farm machinery workshop and a mobile service ute covering grain and cattle properties across a wide district. They are fictional.

The kind of days you could have

Good days

  • A harvester that was dead at dawn is cutting again by the afternoon
  • A farmer who has fought a problem for a week finally watches it get fixed
  • You work out a fault from the sound alone, before you even open the bonnet

Hard days

  • A breakdown in a paddock two hours from the workshop, with a storm coming
  • Waiting on a part that is stuck at a depot while the crop waits for no one
  • Tired farmers under pressure who need the machine now and cannot afford to wait

Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.

Work a mission

Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.

Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 351433, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.