---
title: "Semiconductor Processing Technician"
description: "Perform any or all of the following functions in the manufacture of electronic semiconductors: load semiconductor material into furnace; saw formed…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/semiconductor-processing-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Semiconductor Processing Technician

**Category:** Production · **SOC code:** 51-9141 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 51-9141.00

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.

Also advertised as: Device Processing Engineer; Diffusion Operator; Manufacture Specialist; Manufacturing Technician (Manufacturing Tech); Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition Engineer (MOCVD Engineer); Probe Operator; Process Technician (Process Tech); Semiconductor Laboratory Technician (Semiconductor Lab Tech).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $51,430 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $24.73/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $37,690 to $82,540, with the middle half between $45,640 and $65,010
- **Total US employment:** 31,460
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +8.2% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,400 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 47/100 — 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 31,460 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $37,690 |
| 25th | $45,640 |
| 50th (median) | $51,430 |
| 75th | $65,010 |
| 90th | $82,540 |
| Mean (average) | $60,180 |

### 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AZ | $78,940 | $78,409 | 2,270 |
| OR | $63,330 | $61,271 | 6,620 |
| FL | $62,330 | $60,272 | 190 |
| WA | $58,710 | $54,862 | 990 |
| MN | $57,780 | $58,588 | Not published by BLS |
| NC | $56,160 | $59,538 | 60 |
| CO | $52,360 | $50,809 | 790 |
| MA | $51,410 | $48,611 | 1,190 |
| NY | $49,400 | $45,774 | 1,750 |
| GA | $48,580 | $50,450 | Not published by BLS |
| CA | $48,030 | $43,380 | 4,650 |
| NH | $47,710 | $45,802 | 130 |
| MD | $47,610 | $45,361 | 120 |
| ME | $47,270 | $48,707 | 320 |
| CT | $47,000 | $45,362 | 50 |

5 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 20 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/semiconductor-processing-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/semiconductor-processing-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 31,200 in the 2025–2035 base year to 33,800 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 2,600 jobs, or +8.2%. Much faster than average: 8.2% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,400 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:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### 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 |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 83.9% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 11.7% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 2.3% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 1.3% |
| Some College Courses | 0.5% |
| Post-Doctoral Training | 0.2% |

## What the work involves

- Load and unload equipment chambers and transport finished product to storage or to area for further processing.
- Maintain processing, production, and inspection information and reports.
- Inspect materials, components, or products for surface defects and measure circuitry, using electronic test equipment, precision measuring instruments, microscope, and standard procedures.
- Place semiconductor wafers in processing containers or equipment holders, using vacuum wand or tweezers.
- Study work orders, instructions, formulas, and processing charts to determine specifications and sequence of operations.
- Inspect equipment for leaks, diagnose malfunctions, and request repairs.
- Clean semiconductor wafers using cleaning equipment, such as chemical baths, automatic wafer cleaners, or blow-off wands.
- Manipulate valves, switches, and buttons, or key commands into control panels to start semiconductor processing cycles.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 2.3 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.

- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Maintenance — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Troubleshooting — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Production and Processing — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Public Safety and Security — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Near Vision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.3 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), Conventional (C), Investigative (I).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.40 |
| C — Conventional | 5.15 |
| I — Investigative | 3.07 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.46 |
| S — Social | 1.11 |
| A — Artistic | 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 | 93.8 |
| ISTP | 78.2 |
| ISFJ | 76.4 |
| ESTJ | 75.8 |
| INTJ | 70.2 |

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.

- [Chemical Plant and System Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemical-plant-and-system-operator) — median $78,120
- [Plating Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plating-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $43,960
- [Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electrical-and-electronic-equipment-assembler) — median $45,930
- [Extruding and Forming Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Synthetic and Glass Fiber](https://nuecareer.com/careers/extruding-and-forming-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-synthetic-and-glass-fiber) — median $46,350
- [Extruding and Drawing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender, Metal and Plastic](https://nuecareer.com/careers/extruding-and-drawing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender-metal-and-plastic) — median $47,720
- [Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/welding-soldering-and-brazing-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $47,920
- [Microsystems Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/microsystems-engineer) — median $122,930
- [Electromechanical Equipment Assembler](https://nuecareer.com/careers/electromechanical-equipment-assembler) — median $45,930
- [Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setter, Operator, and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/separating-filtering-clarifying-precipitating-and-still-machine-setter-operator-and-tender) — median $51,610
- [Adhesive Bonding Machine Operator and Tender](https://nuecareer.com/careers/adhesive-bonding-machine-operator-and-tender) — median $46,460

## 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/semiconductor-processing-technician