I would love to find a job in the amateur radio field. I have been licensed since 1994 and have a background in electronics and computer technology. Anyone with any tips, leads, etc can contact me at ke4pmp@gmail.com What could be better than working and getting paid for the worlds greatest hobby. Thanks for your serious replys. 73s Ke4pmp
Apart from teaching in a class, are licensed operators supposed NOT to collect funds for their services concerning "...in the amateur radio field..." Not to say the application can be crossed-used as "dispatcher, announcer- reporter, any commercial radio job, technician, commercial television stations, police, EMS, etc.." But I thought payment for armature radio services was a "no-no." *(except in a very limited occupation.)
You can;'t generally be paid for OPERATING an amateur radio station. But you certainly CAN be paid for designing, building, repairing, and selling,equipment and, for that matter, producing a podcast about amateur radio. You can be paid to be CEO of ARRL or editor of CQ magazine, and for all the jobs in those organizations (including the guy who runs the W1AW bulletins). You can be paid for installing a Ham's antenna. You can be paid for teaching a class (though most of those are volunteers). II think you get the idea!
Go for it, just be careful. I see you're the same guy who asked this on eHam. Hopefully, you'll get more encouragement here, instead of all the "reasons" why wanting to work in some amateur radio business --or self-employment in ANY area-- is a "bad idea". I stand by what I stated here. Exactly right. Are the owners of Elecraft, MFJ, M2, Ten-Tec, DX Engineering, Alpha, etc. etc. running illegal operations if they make a profit? Of course not.
I'm guessing you're willing to move? Vidalia isn't exactly a hub of commercial amateur radio activity (a bit of a non sequitur, I know) Ameritron is looking for bench techs...in MS. Yaesu was looking for help a few months ago in CA. There is an HRO in Atlanta. Probably your best option is to identify a need and go into business for yourself, assuming you have the skill set to fill that need.
I know there was recently a job opening in sales at the HRO office in Woodbridge, VA. Not sure if that's been filled, but it's an option. To be honest, I wish there were more in the ham radio sales business, I love meeting new dealers at the hamfest, especially those who repair and market the older tube radios.
Branch out on your own. If you have a well equipped test bench and adequate knowledge, there is 'business' in repairing stuff...including not just ham rigs but shortwave radios and all kinds of stuff.
Get your FCC GROL license, and go work for a railroad or similar. Careers in ham radio are dead end jobs. Communications jobs at railroads are union, have great health bennies, and a future. Second choice would be with the FAA or other government agencies looking for communications technicians. The Post Office has ET jobs with excellent pay, etc. Always look to the future: benefits, security, retirement. This is from an OT who retired at age 61 with a good pension. BTW, I retired from the RR. I worked for the USPS, but things are changing there. RR jobs are becoming more technical with positive train control, etc. on the horizon.
So 14 replies later on eHam and he doesn't like what he see's so he comes here hoping to get a different answer. This is sort of like seeing the same movie in a different theater to see if it will have a different ending!
A good position for someone who has a love for radios and is a good communicator would be a job working as a 911 operator. Would be something to look into anyway. However, this does require that you be able to multi-task.
I am not offering a direct paying position (it's not hourly), but we do still have some openings in our GigaParts Chat Expert program. The system is pretty simple; you log in and answer chat questions from home/work/wherever on your PC when you want to in your free time. You decide your schedule. Our chat Experts help current hams or new hams find the product they need or sometimes help them design their dream set up! Our Experts meet new people daily and get to talk about Amateur radio (their favorite hobby)! In return, if you sell products while chatting, metrics are in place to award in store credit toward the purchase of any product we carry. We also offer great discounts on products (especially radios) for any Expert chatting more than 10 hours a month! These things combined are what have made it attractive for the guys currently in the program. We understand it's not for everyone, and if your're looking for something to pay the bills, this isn't it. The position should be viewed as a great way to supplement your hobby, receive great discounts and meet other people interested in the same hobby while having a feeling of accomplishment in helping others. Feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in more information!
Like the hobby, there is not any real money to be made. Years ago i was a bench technician and use to fix rigs, but no way could you make a living doing that. Today's radios really do not have any serviceable parts in them. Its all LSI at a board level replacement. Fixing them today is like a Tube Jockey of old. Just replace the faulty board. Only way I know of to make any money is by selling antennas, coax, antenna's and those guys are a dime a dozen out there.
I beg to differ there my friend. I worked in the UK for 10 years as an electronics engineer. then moved back to France and worked for another 8 years as a senior electronics and radio engineer. Given a positon with my own workshop laid out tomy design where i did everything from repairing and testing cb, ham,pmr radios to designing commercial antennas and teaching students on colledge training courses to working with the military, ambulance and police services. I had a set of pmr band and ham antennas installed and allways had an old kenwood on the bench hooked up ready. . As well as being able to "play radio" at any time I had all the toys you could want to deign and build whatever took my fancy. OK i did a lot more too, site installations of pmr safety equipment to comms and emergency radios (PTI) in prisions, military, public and industrial locations..and so much more. My employment in this field has been my only source of income for the past 25 years including a period when i ran my own industrial electronics repair buisness. All that and getting paid for it too.