---
title: "Nanotechnology Engineering Technologist and Technician"
description: "Implement production processes and operate commercial-scale production equipment to produce, test, or modify materials, devices, or systems of unique…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/nanotechnology-engineering-technologist-and-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Nanotechnology Engineering Technologist and Technician

**Category:** Architecture and Engineering · **SOC code:** 17-3026 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 17-3026.01

Implement production processes and operate commercial-scale production equipment to produce, test, or modify materials, devices, or systems of unique molecular or macromolecular composition. Operate advanced microscopy equipment to manipulate nanoscale objects. Work under the supervision of nanoengineering staff.

Also advertised as: Engineering Technician (Engineering Tech); Lab Technician (Laboratory Technician); Nanofabrication Specialist; Process Engineering Technician (Process Engineering Tech); R and D Engineer (Research and Development Engineer); Research Lab Associate (Research Laboratory Associate); Research Scientist; Research Specialist.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $66,120 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $31.79/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $47,300 to $99,150, with the middle half between $55,760 and $80,280
- **Total US employment:** 75,570
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +3.1% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 6,600 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 41/100 — 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 75,570 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $47,300 |
| 25th | $55,760 |
| 50th (median) | $66,120 |
| 75th | $80,280 |
| 90th | $99,150 |
| Mean (average) | $70,700 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OK | $79,330 | $90,309 | 750 |
| MD | $79,090 | $75,353 | 490 |
| CA | $79,070 | $71,414 | 5,710 |
| WA | $78,430 | $73,290 | 1,050 |
| OR | $75,760 | $73,297 | 910 |
| NJ | $72,890 | $66,991 | 920 |
| VT | $72,410 | $73,919 | 110 |
| MA | $71,830 | $67,920 | 2,070 |
| IL | $71,090 | $71,120 | 2,260 |
| MN | $70,490 | $71,476 | 5,380 |
| NY | $70,290 | $65,131 | 4,090 |
| SC | $70,080 | $74,753 | 2,400 |
| NC | $69,720 | $73,914 | 1,940 |
| NH | $69,650 | $66,865 | 620 |
| CT | $69,260 | $66,847 | 670 |

31 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 46 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/nanotechnology-engineering-technologist-and-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/nanotechnology-engineering-technologist-and-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 76,700 in the 2025–2035 base year to 79,000 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 2,400 jobs, or +3.1%. About as fast as average: 3.1% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 6,600 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:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable 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 |
| --- | --- |
| Doctoral Degree | 40.0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 30.0% |
| Master's Degree | 10.0% |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 10.0% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 5.0% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 5.0% |

## What the work involves

- Repair nanotechnology processing or testing equipment or submit work orders for equipment repair.
- Produce images or measurements, using tools or techniques such as atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, particle size analysis, or zeta potential analysis.
- Collaborate with scientists or engineers to design or conduct experiments for the development of nanotechnology materials, components, devices, or systems.
- Operate nanotechnology compounding, testing, processing, or production equipment in accordance with appropriate standard operating procedures, good manufacturing practices, hazardous material restrictions, or health and safety requirements.
- Inspect or measure thin films of carbon nanotubes, polymers, or inorganic coatings, using a variety of techniques or analytical tools.
- Prepare detailed verbal or written presentations for scientists, engineers, project managers, or upper management.
- Contribute written material or data for grant or patent applications.
- Calibrate nanotechnology equipment, such as weighing, testing, or production equipment.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Science — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.4 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
- Troubleshooting — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Engineering and Technology — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Physics — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Written Comprehension — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 3.9 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 | 6.16 |
| I — Investigative | 4.98 |
| C — Conventional | 4.83 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.01 |
| A — Artistic | 1.55 |
| S — Social | 1.05 |

### 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 | 92.3 |
| ISTP | 84.6 |
| INTJ | 79.9 |
| ESTJ | 69.2 |
| ISFJ | 66.8 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Nanosystems Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/nanosystems-engineer) — median $122,930
- [Mechanical Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechanical-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $74,510
- [Industrial Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $66,120
- [Chemical Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemical-technician) — median $60,390
- [Robotics Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/robotics-technician) — median $73,900
- [Chemist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemist) — median $91,240
- [Calibration Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/calibration-technologist-and-technician) — median $67,820
- [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
- [Chemical Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemical-engineer) — median $125,040

## 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/nanotechnology-engineering-technologist-and-technician