Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other

US occupation · SOC 17-3029

Median annual wage, May 2025: $78,350; Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn: $60,390 – $99,310; 25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025: 59,930; Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35: +2.8%; Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
Openings a year (projected): 5,400; New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter: Associate's degree; BLS

All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

All engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, not listed separately.

More specific O*NET® occupations under this one: Non-Destructive Testing Specialists, Photonics Technicians.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS): Associate's degree

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 34 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Fields

Our college matcher doesn't offer these fields as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for them here.

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Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk