Having just finished school for electromechanical engineering technician and being a certified robotic technician I'm now looking for a job as a robotic tech.

A lot of the jobs in this area are located out of town and require application through email, But cover letters/emails are probably my worst area of job applications.

How do I make sure my email gets noticed?

Hi Grndpndr,

Congratulations on completing your program! It's not easy writing an effective cover letter -- you have to quickly grab the reader's attention and make employers want to read your resume. There are dozens of sample cover letters posted on Monster that you can review for inspiration -- here's the link:
Cover Letter Samples

The best approach is to picture yourself on the other end of the hiring desk. What would you look for if you were hiring a robotic technician? What skills, training, and experience would be important to you? You can study sample job ads for direction regarding credentials that employers are looking for, and incorporate your matching credentials in your cover letter.

Feel free to post a draft of your letter to this forum for specific feedback!

I've been looking around at samples and putting some stuff together, but to be completely honest if I were the guy reading through tons of cover letters I'd be looking for someone who is naturally skilled in technical areas, and has a sense of humor....I would want to see a couple of amusing sentences, but I don't think that's gonna fly.

It takes 5 mins to submit a resume/CV, and hours to write one.

Hi GRNDPNDR,

Yes, it's true that it can take a long time to prepare your documents and only minutes to submit them.

Humor can work very well in cover letters but it's a little risky if you don't know the sense of humor of the recipient. If you keep it subtle and tasteful, though, it's an excellent way to stand out from all of the super-serious cover letters floating out there. If two equally qualified candidates applied for the same position but one made the hiring manager smile, there's a good chance the one who used humor gets the interview.