Semiconductor Processing Technicians
Sign In
Speciality
OverviewSalaryAboutEducationWhere are the jobsEmploymentGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Perform any or all of the following functions in the manufacture of electronic semiconductors: load semiconductor material into furnace; saw formed ingots into segments; load individual segment into crystal growing chamber and monitor controls; locate crystal axis in ingot using x-ray equipment and saw ingots into wafers; and clean, polish, and load wafers into series of special purpose furnaces, chemical baths, and equipment used to form circuitry and change conductive properties.
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
TechnicianOperatorSemiconductorCrystalWaferProcessorWafersMachineEngineerDiffusionElectronicReactorGroupTenderChemicalEtchCircuitMounterDeviceProcessingFurnaceEpitaxialLevelFabricatorPolishingAssemblerEquipmentSemiconductorsSmallFabricationWorkerChargePreparationRecorderCutterFinisherGrowerGrowingLapperMachiningCoordinatorSlicerDieAttacherComponentMonitorEngineeringIntegratedIonImplantLapLappingManufactureSpecialistManufacturingMetalorganicVaporDepositionMOCVDMicroelectronicsProbeProcessResistorCoaterSandingSeedCoreSemiConductorDiesLoaderPackagesSealerTestEtcherStripperMarkerSawMetallizationBreakerProduction
Share
Fewer details
Salary
Median salary: $40,500 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $33,280 and $54,320.
$41K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
Fewer details
Salary growth for specialized production workers
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$24K$37K$38K$37K$30K$33K$34K$34K$39K$0$20K$40K$60K$80K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
050K100K150K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Semiconductor Processing Technicians
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of semiconductor processing technicians who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • Hazardous Conditions (80%)
  • Time Pressure (74%)
  • Exposed to Contaminants (71%)
  • Responsible for Others' Health (63%)
  • Consequence of Error (53%)
SOURCES:
Fewer details
Injury and Illness
About 30 semiconductor processing technicians become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, making this job more dangerous than 59% of other careers. The most common specific concerns detailed following.
Sprains, strains, tears
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by semiconductor processing technicians
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), semiconductor processing technicians typically hold a high school diploma or equivalent.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as specialized production workers as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Education level of Specialized Production Workers
Only 7% of specialized production workers have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by specialized production workers
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Fewer details
Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Number of degrees awarded in 2018
Education
Education level of awarded degrees
Assoc./Cert.
Bachelor's
Graduate
Gender
Gender of graduates
Men
Women
Race/Origin
Race/origin of graduates
White
Minority
International
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Specialized Production Workers per 1,000 workers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Fewer details
Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most semiconductor processing technicians? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as semiconductor processing technicians. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where semiconductor processing technicians earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for specialized production workers compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for specialized production workers.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which specialized production workers earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Specialized Production Workers (ACS for all specialties)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
9% of Specialized production workers are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 9% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 58% of careers.
9%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
Fewer details
Distribution: Salaries of specialized production workers by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$33K$33K$27K$36K$42K$41K$27K$48K$0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000Self-employed not incorporatedSelf-employed incorporatedFederal governmentState governmentLocal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Specialized production workers and gender
With 27% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 59% of careers.
Gender of Specialized production workers
Men (73%)
Women (27%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$26K$36K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
Fewer details
Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
27%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Salary inequity
The median (middle) salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%, and the difference for specialized production workers tops that, with the median salary for men 38% higher than the median salary for women.
38%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Specialized production workers
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Specialized production workers.
Race/origin of specialized production workers
White (67% )
Black (16% )
Other (8% )
Asian (5% )
Multiracial (2% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (1% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$27K$29K$30K$31K$31K$31K$31K$35K$0$20K$40K$60K$80KOtherPacific IslanderHispanicAmerican IndianBlackMultiracialAsianWhite
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.