First time hiring Soldering/Assembly technician, need advice pls.

[alexg]

Hi All, we need little advice, for the first time in our experience we are looking to hire Electronics Generalist so to speak who can do all-around assembly/soldering, some on the fly general inspection/troubleshooting, flashing chips, etc. I suppose the job title can be "soldering technician" or perhaps even "assembly technician".
So basically a person that can solder some certain number of things daily, inspect populated boards, do some spot fixing for bridges or dry joints, etc, solder few custom through hole and SMD parts for certain number or units, then perform programming of the MPUs, calibration, and further assembly, etc.
So my question is: Where does one find such candidate? It sounds simple but I will be honest I have no clue if it better to post a message in local newspaper, go to some local hobby club or something like that, post online?
And another question is, how much can this cost in US, both fulltime and on freelance basis? Just need some ideas.
Thanks in advance for any bit of info regarding this.

[andy3055]

You might find a good candidate as you mentioned at the local hobby club or even at the local community colleges. There are also retired people who are looking for part time employment. Whatever you do, try to give a simple practical test to check on their manual dexterity/skill and experience in standard procedures only as any specific stuff you may do at your facility could be learnt on the job.

Another source is Volt temps.

[TheDane]

If you're still looking and can't find anybody - I have an idea or two:

Find an unskilled mature competent person with some technical/logical skills and the willingness to learn the new task you're looking for. Friends and family can be a great place to start look.
Technical schools or trade-schools/colleges tend to attract people whose thumbs and fingers are    Call them and ask to talk to a recruiter who could help you with a contact/contract.
Send so said person to seminars/courses for specific training and skill learning. Possibly provide tools and components for training and/or fun when not at work.

I realize it isn't free to you, it is a risk and it takes time to train the person. Pay a good wage + give good benefits, and it just might be a great investment in the long run.
"stealing" competitors employees might be an option, if you're not big on the loyality thing, know a good head-hunter and have $ to spend.

Another way to go could be 'importing' skilled technicians through VISA programs. That could end up requiring a lot of paper work to argue nobody locally can do the job you need done.
(Just make sure you completly understand the person - "I am certified to do the micro sold", when they're in reality saying "I am calling you from micro soft")


Good luck!

Edit - Added some more text + clarification 

[L/C/R Putzer]

You might try appealing to recent Military Experience in 2M Certification. It's covers quality controls, able to keep records of repairs, Parts recognition.
http://everyspec.com/MIL-STD/MIL-STD-2000-2999/MIL-STD-2000_10934/

[winniethepooh_icu]

Hi All, we need little advice, for the first time in our experience we are looking to hire Electronics Generalist so to speak who can do all-around assembly/soldering, some on the fly general inspection/troubleshooting, flashing chips, etc. I suppose the job title can be "soldering technician" or perhaps even "assembly technician".
So basically a person that can solder some certain number of things daily, inspect populated boards, do some spot fixing for bridges or dry joints, etc, solder few custom through hole and SMD parts for certain number or units, then perform programming of the MPUs, calibration, and further assembly, etc.
So my question is: Where does one find such candidate? It sounds simple but I will be honest I have no clue if it better to post a message in local newspaper, go to some local hobby club or something like that, post online?
And another question is, how much can this cost in US, both fulltime and on freelance basis? Just need some ideas.
Thanks in advance for any bit of info regarding this.

You would not be surprised what one of these kids who spent their teens on a playstation controller can do with a soldering iron.
Key is to find one that has grown up and is not still wasting time on gaming and this new massive time waste garbage "streaming".
If you find a motivated, quick learner with good hand skills (ie playstation) but no formal school training, you should be able to get them for under $25/hr.
There are many of these "professional" technician types i.e. "electronics engineers" who got one of these sad AS or BS degress in "electronics" (not EE) and our experience is that they are expensive, slow, and complain a lot when they have to solder modern fine pitch SMD components.  Meanwhile the "playstation" kid you mentored is drag soldering fine pitch QFN while listening to his iTunes and not complaining at all.  IMHO the expensive guys not worth it unless you are a larger company that can bear the burden by spreading work across many people OR you find a really good one (very rare in our experience).  We have encountered these "professional technician" types demanding $50k and up which is rather ridiculous if you ask us.
There is a great value in mentoring a young one and teaching them to do it right.  The hard part is finding a young person who is up to the challenge.  Seems like a lot of these kids just want to screw off nowadays and "see what happens".