Career: Engineering Technicians
Engineering technicians help turn ideas into reality. Assisting engineers or scientists, or working on their own, they use their technical skills to come up with practical solutions to a variety of problems.
Depending on their specialty and work setting, their duties include everything from setting up and maintaining equipment in a research lab to drafting plans for new designs on a computer to inspecting an assembly line.
Engineering technicians use math, science, and engineering skills to work on a variety of projects in a wide range of fields. They have less responsibility than engineers and their work is more hands-on.
Did You Know?
- About three out of ten engineering technicians are electrical and electronic engineering technicians. Other common specialties include civil engineering and industrial engineering.
Are You Ready To...?
- Work in a lab
- Travel to plants or construction sites
- Work as part of a team
- Keep up with new technology and equipment
- Work carefully and accurately
- Handle potentially dangerous equipment or chemicals
It Helps to Be...
Someone who likes building things and solving problems. This is a great career if you like discovering how things work and how to make them work better.
Make High School Count
- Pay attention in English. You’ll need to be able to read complex material and write about your work.
- Upgrade your computer skills by learning computer-aided drafting.
- Work with the stage crew and get experience building sets or working the light board.
- Join an engineering club or get others involved in engineering competitions, such as the one offered by JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society).
- Get in as much math and science as you can, especially algebra, trigonometry, physics, and chemistry.
Did You Know?
- Engineers invented and perfected the snowboard.
Outlook
Government economists expect jobs for engineering technicians to grow as fast as the average for all occupations through 2016. Different specialties will grow at different rates. The greatest growth will be in fields like civil and environmental engineering that require technicians to be present at the worksite. On the other hand, foreign competition will limit opportunities for technicians in mechanical and electrical engineering.
Compensation
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average yearly earnings of engineering technicians in 2008 according to specialty:
- Aerospace engineering and operations technicians: $56,280
- Civil engineering technicians: $45,730
- Electrical and electronic engineering technicians: $53,990
- Environmental engineering technicians: $44,440
- Industrial engineering technicians: $50,070
- Mechanical engineering technicians: $50,040
