---
title: "Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialist"
description: "Design and implement radio frequency identification device (RFID) systems used to track shipments or goods."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/radio-frequency-identification-device-specialist"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Radio Frequency Identification Device Specialist

**Category:** Architecture and Engineering · **SOC code:** 17-2072 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 17-2072.01

Design and implement radio frequency identification device (RFID) systems used to track shipments or goods.

Also advertised as: Deployment Engineer; Electro Magnetic Compatibility Test Engineer; RFID Engineer (Radio Frequency Identification Device Engineer); RFID Systems Engineer (Radio Frequency Identification Device Systems Engineer); Technical Support Engineer.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $130,220 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $62.60/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $81,840 to $206,960, with the middle half between $101,680 and $167,670
- **Total US employment:** 96,900
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +3.7% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 4,900 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 31/100 — 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 96,900 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $81,840 |
| 25th | $101,680 |
| 50th (median) | $130,220 |
| 75th | $167,670 |
| 90th | $206,960 |
| Mean (average) | $137,280 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CA | $160,520 | $144,978 | 20,830 |
| NJ | $158,730 | $145,885 | 1,820 |
| DC | $157,040 | $142,892 | 400 |
| MD | $155,650 | $148,296 | 3,390 |
| MA | $138,230 | $130,705 | 5,910 |
| NM | $136,990 | $148,560 | 1,110 |
| RI | $136,360 | $133,320 | 970 |
| TX | $132,220 | $136,229 | 9,520 |
| WA | $130,270 | $121,733 | 1,950 |
| IL | $129,390 | $129,444 | 960 |
| UT | $128,430 | $129,906 | 1,570 |
| ME | $127,490 | $131,365 | Not published by BLS |
| MI | $127,200 | $132,201 | 2,960 |
| CO | $127,010 | $123,248 | 6,080 |
| HI | $126,690 | $115,224 | 310 |

36 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 51 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/radio-frequency-identification-device-specialist/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/radio-frequency-identification-device-specialist.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 98,200 in the 2025–2035 base year to 101,800 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 3,600 jobs, or +3.7%. About as fast as average: 3.7% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 4,900 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:** Bachelor'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 |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 74.8% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 10.1% |
| Master's Degree | 7.7% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 5.6% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 1.8% |

## What the work involves

- Identify operational requirements for new systems to inform selection of technological solutions.
- Test tags or labels to ensure readability.
- Test radio frequency identification device (RFID) software to ensure proper functioning.
- Integrate tags, readers, or software in radio frequency identification device (RFID) designs.
- Perform systems analysis or programming of radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology.
- Provide technical support for radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology.
- Install, test, or maintain radio frequency identification device (RFID) systems.
- Determine means of integrating radio frequency identification device (RFID) into other applications.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Critical Thinking — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — 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
- Mathematics — importance 2.6 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 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Persuasion — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Computers and Electronics — importance 4.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 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
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Inductive Reasoning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — 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 Conventional (C), Realistic (R), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| C — Conventional | 5.31 |
| R — Realistic | 5.08 |
| I — Investigative | 4.85 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.56 |
| S — Social | 1.54 |
| A — Artistic | 1.41 |

### 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 | 92.4 |
| ISTP | 81.2 |
| INTJ | 79.1 |
| ISFJ | 70.2 |
| ESTJ | 69.4 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

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

- [Electronics Engineer, Except Computer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electronics-engineer) — median $130,220
- [Computer Hardware Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-hardware-engineer) — median $161,740
- [Microsystems Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/microsystems-engineer) — median $122,930
- [Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronic-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $78,190
- [Software Developer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/software-developer) — median $135,980
- [Electrical Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-engineer) — median $120,630
- [Photonics Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/photonics-engineer) — median $122,930
- [Computer Systems Engineers/Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-systems-engineers-architect) — median $116,580
- [Robotics Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/robotics-engineer) — median $122,930
- [Mechatronics Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mechatronics-engineer) — median $122,930

## 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/radio-frequency-identification-device-specialist