Advanced manufacturing careers are growing in popularity. They offer an innovative career path with a bright job outlook. Not to mention, manufacturing careers are purposeful—the industrial manufacturing sector is dedicated to producing important goods, from aerospace engines to everyday appliances. The profession’s creative elements, cutting-edge technology, economic importance, and high pay potential are all attractive for prospective technicians today.
If you are seeking an in-demand and innovative career, becoming an industrial manufacturing technician offers a great return on investment. The industrial technician salary offers more than the national average, but only requires a postsecondary certificate to achieve a high-paying role. This is true for the:
- Industrial engineering technician salary
- Industrial maintenance technician salary, and
- Industrial service technician salary
Read on to learn more about the career path of an industrial technician, including the job duties, employment outlook, salary potential, and educational path for all types of industrial technicians.
Industrial Engineering Technician: Career Summary
Industrial engineering technicians help engineers solve manufacturing layout and process improvement issues. The production and profitability professionals analyze data as well as maintenance and service operations to set reasonable production rates.
Industrial engineering technicians lessen and control organizational expenditures while increasing efficiency in project management positions. In quality assurance segments, industrial engineering technicians help sustain customer satisfaction, and in supply chain management sectors, the skilled employees assist in decreasing inventory costs.
Typical roles of an industrial engineering technician include:
- Analyzing machinery performance
- Assessing prototypes
- Creating new production methods
- Collaborating with management on quality and reliability standards
- Interpreting engineering diagrams and drawings
- Preparing charts, diagrams, and graphs to illustrate floor layout, machine function, and workflow
- Scheduling work assignments with machine capabilities and production in mind, and
- Suggesting alterations to business operations, equipment design, and material handling
Industrial Machinery Mechanic: Career Summary
Otherwise known as industrial maintenance technicians and maintenance machinists, industrial machinery mechanics install, fix, and maintain complex electrical equipment and commercial machinery. The preventative and performance-driven professionals frequently work with their hands, weld, and use tools like drills, grinders, lathes, and presses.
Everyday responsibilities for an industrial machinery mechanic include:
- Adjusting and calibrating equipment to precise specifications
- Cleaning equipment
- Dissembling machinery
- Examining technical manuals to understand equipment
- Performing diagnostic tests and trial runs to ensure machinery is working correctly, and
- Repairing and replacing broken and malfunctioning components
Industrial Engineering Technician: Career Setting and Schedule
Industrial engineering technicians generally work full-time in manufacturing industries under the supervision of engineers. According to data from the United States Department of Labor, there were 64,200 industrial engineering technicians in 2021.
The top three employers of industrial engineering technicians in 2021 were:
- Computer and electronic product manufacturing
- Transportation equipment and manufacturing
- Professional, scientific, and technical services
Industrial Machinery Mechanic: Career Setting and Schedule
Industrial machinery mechanics commonly work full-time schedules in manufacturing facilities where on-call shifts, overtime, night work, and weekend hours are standard.
Industrial mechanics must also follow safety measures and wear protective equipment such as earplugs, gloves, hard hats, safety glasses, and steel-toed shoes.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 483,200 industrial machinery mechanics working in 2021. During the same year, the top three employers of industrial machinery mechanics were:
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale trade
- Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance
Industrial Technician Career Outlook
Employment for industrial engineering technicians is projected to grow by 3 percent from 2021 to 2031, with 6,600 openings estimated yearly.
The field of industrial machinery technicians is expected to grow by 14 percent from 2021 to 2031. As a result, 53,200 new positions are anticipated to open up annually over the decade.
Industrial Technician Salary Potential
Across the country, industrial maintenance technicians can expect to earn an average salary of $58,780 annually.
Meanwhile, industrial engineering technicians in the United States make an average salary of $61,230 per year.
However, industrial technician salaries can vary by state. In Connecticut, industrial maintenance technicians earned an average salary of $66,190 per year, while industrial engineering technicians earned $57,270 on average annually.
No matter which path you choose, it’s clear that skilled technicians can achieve high-paying positions. Not to mention, the salary potential is only growing for this field. Today, manufacturing workers earn close to $96,000 on average in the United States. And as manufacturers continue to face a talent shortage—and seek out talented workers—there is becoming greater room for salary negotiation, plus enhanced job benefits. According to a recent Manufacturing Institute report, most private industry manufacturing workers now receive the following:
- Retirement benefits through their job (84 percent)
- Health care benefits (90 percent)
- Paid vacation (95 percent)
- Paid sick leave (81 percent)
If you bring education and experience to your job application, you can expect it to pay off (quite literally).
Becoming an Industrial Technician
To become an industrial technician, a minimum of a postsecondary certificate and/or on-the-job training is required.
For learners looking to propel their profession or those seeking to change their career path, workforce-ready institutions like Goodwin University offer Industrial Service Technician certificate programs, aptly preparing graduates for their future positions.
Flexible in format and career-focused, Goodwin University helps students strengthen their skills by offering the Industrial Service Technician program on a full and part-time schedule.
Through the curriculum, learners study basic electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic functions and Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) — focusing on how they all integrate with mechatronics, mechanical drives, and properties of motion in objects.
In class, students are instructed by expert industry faculty in modern manufacturing facilities. Throughout the program, future industrial service technicians gain the necessary technical talents for success with essential hands-on experience ideal for sought-after employability.
Do you want to work in an innovative and rewarding industry? Learn more about elevating your salary potential as an industrial service technician!