---
title: "Calibration Technologist and Technician"
description: "Execute or adapt procedures and techniques for calibrating measurement devices, by applying knowledge of measurement science, mathematics, physics…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/calibration-technologist-and-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Calibration Technologist and Technician

**Category:** Architecture and Engineering · **SOC code:** 17-3028 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 17-3028.00

Execute or adapt procedures and techniques for calibrating measurement devices, by applying knowledge of measurement science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and electronics, sometimes under the direction of engineering staff. Determine measurement standard suitability for calibrating measurement devices. May perform preventive maintenance on equipment. May perform corrective actions to address identified calibration problems.

Also advertised as: Calibration Specialist; Calibration Technician (Calibration Tech); Gauge Specialist; Instrument and Control Technician (I and C Tech); Instrument Control Technician (Instrument Control Tech); Quality Technician (Quality Tech).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $67,820 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $32.61/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $46,680 to $106,550, with the middle half between $56,380 and $92,080
- **Total US employment:** 16,540
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +4.8% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 1,500 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 36/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 16,540 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $46,680 |
| 25th | $56,380 |
| 50th (median) | $67,820 |
| 75th | $92,080 |
| 90th | $106,550 |
| Mean (average) | $74,170 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WA | $93,880 | $87,728 | 270 |
| OK | $80,920 | $92,119 | 150 |
| LA | $80,670 | $91,455 | 480 |
| CA | $79,010 | $71,360 | 1,250 |
| VT | $77,950 | $79,575 | 30 |
| NJ | $77,040 | $70,806 | 390 |
| MA | $75,500 | $71,390 | 380 |
| TX | $74,100 | $76,347 | 5,020 |
| VA | $72,730 | $71,936 | 330 |
| TN | $71,660 | $78,002 | 130 |
| MI | $70,140 | $72,898 | 400 |
| AZ | $69,230 | $68,764 | 400 |
| OR | $68,830 | $66,592 | 170 |
| UT | $67,300 | $68,073 | 80 |
| SC | $66,910 | $71,371 | 70 |

22 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 37 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/calibration-technologist-and-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/calibration-technologist-and-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 17,000 in the 2025–2035 base year to 17,800 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 800 jobs, or +4.8%. Faster than average: 4.8% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 1,500 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Associate's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

## What the work involves

- Analyze test data to identify defects or determine calibration requirements.
- Read blueprints, schematics, diagrams, or technical orders.
- Visually inspect equipment to detect surface defects.
- Conduct calibration tests to determine performance or reliability of mechanical, structural, or electromechanical equipment.
- Write and submit reports about the results of calibration tests.
- Order replacement parts for malfunctioning equipment.
- Plan sequences of calibration tests according to equipment specifications and scientific principles.
- Maintain or repair measurement devices or equipment used for calibration testing.

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.30 |
| C — Conventional | 5.59 |
| I — Investigative | 4.13 |
| S — Social | 1.56 |
| A — Artistic | 1.12 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 93.9 |
| ISTP | 79.3 |
| ISFJ | 76.8 |
| INTJ | 73.3 |
| ESTJ | 72.5 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aerospace-engineering-and-operations-technologist-and-technician) — median $82,890
- [Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronic-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $78,190
- [Mechanical Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $74,510
- [Electrical and Electronics Repairer, Commercial and Industrial Equipment](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronics-repairer-commercial-and-industrial-equipment) — median $74,090
- [Robotics Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/robotics-technician) — median $73,900
- [Automotive Engineering Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/automotive-engineering-technician) — median $74,510
- [Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electro-mechanical-and-mechatronics-technologist-and-technician) — median $73,900
- [Electromechanical Equipment Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electromechanical-equipment-assembler) — median $45,930
- [Inspector, Tester, Sorter, Sampler, and Weigher](https://nuecareer.com/careers/inspector-tester-sorter-sampler-and-weigher) — median $48,570
- [Medical Equipment Repairer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/medical-equipment-repairer) — median $61,660

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank 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 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/calibration-technologist-and-technician