---
title: "Mechanical Engineering Technologist and Technician"
description: "Apply theory and principles of mechanical engineering to modify, develop, test, or adjust machinery and equipment under direction of engineering staff or…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-engineering-technologist-and-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Mechanical Engineering Technologist and Technician

**Category:** Architecture and Engineering · **SOC code:** 17-3027 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 17-3027.00

Apply theory and principles of mechanical engineering to modify, develop, test, or adjust machinery and equipment under direction of engineering staff or physical scientists.

Also advertised as: Engineering Laboratory Technician (Engineering Lab Technician); Engineering Technical Analyst; Engineering Technician (Engineering Tech); Engineering Technologist; Manufacturing Engineering Technician (Manufacturing Engineering Tech); Mechanical Designer; Mechanical Technician (Mechanical Tech); Process Engineering Technician (Process Engineering Tech).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $74,510 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $35.82/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $48,400 to $106,050, with the middle half between $59,510 and $88,110
- **Total US employment:** 36,190
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +1.3% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,100 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 42/100 — 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 36,190 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $48,400 |
| 25th | $59,510 |
| 50th (median) | $74,510 |
| 75th | $88,110 |
| 90th | $106,050 |
| Mean (average) | $76,380 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LA | $102,800 | $116,544 | 270 |
| NM | $97,560 | $105,800 | 320 |
| MO | $92,150 | $101,468 | 800 |
| CA | $87,390 | $78,929 | 3,660 |
| CT | $82,660 | $79,780 | 350 |
| RI | $81,600 | $79,781 | 30 |
| OR | $80,840 | $78,211 | 260 |
| NE | $80,050 | $88,843 | 250 |
| WA | $79,410 | $74,206 | 890 |
| MD | $79,180 | $75,439 | 640 |
| OH | $78,500 | $84,614 | 1,800 |
| NY | $78,210 | $72,470 | 1,140 |
| KY | $77,990 | $86,503 | 520 |
| DE | $77,820 | $77,970 | 50 |
| IN | $77,220 | $82,740 | 1,500 |

30 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 45 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-engineering-technologist-and-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/mechanical-engineering-technologist-and-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 36,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 37,400 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 500 jobs, or +1.3%. Slower than average: 1.3% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,100 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.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 36.5% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 32.8% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 14.1% |
| Some College Courses | 8.8% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 7.8% |

## What the work involves

- Provide technical support to other employees regarding mechanical design, fabrication, testing, or documentation.
- Interpret engineering sketches, specifications, or drawings.
- Assemble or disassemble complex mechanical systems.
- Test machines, components, materials, or products to determine characteristics such as performance, strength, or response to stress.
- Prepare equipment inspection schedules, reliability schedules, work plans, or other records.
- Calculate required capacities for equipment of proposed system to obtain specified performance and submit data to engineering personnel for approval.
- Record test procedures and results, numerical and graphical data, and recommendations for changes in product or test methods.
- Design molds, tools, dies, jigs, or fixtures for use in manufacturing processes.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Engineering and Technology — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Information Ordering — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## 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), Investigative (I), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.26 |
| I — Investigative | 5.37 |
| C — Conventional | 4.76 |
| A — Artistic | 2.19 |
| S — Social | 1.19 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.08 |

### 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 | 90.6 |
| ISTP | 85.1 |
| INTJ | 82.3 |
| ISFJ | 67.2 |
| INTP | 64.1 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Calibration Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/calibration-technologist-and-technician) — median $67,820
- [Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronic-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $78,190
- [Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/aerospace-engineering-and-operations-technologist-and-technician) — median $82,890
- [Robotics Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/robotics-technician) — median $73,900
- [Industrial Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $66,120
- [Mechanical Drafter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-drafter) — median $71,550
- [Automotive Engineering Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/automotive-engineering-technician) — median $74,510
- [Photonics Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/photonics-technician) — median $78,350
- [Civil Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/civil-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $64,950
- [Nanotechnology Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/nanotechnology-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $66,120

## 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/mechanical-engineering-technologist-and-technician