Career Explorer Production
Human edge, growing
Semiconductor processing technicians
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.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 87% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +8.2% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $51,430
- Job growth to 2035
- +8.2%
- Openings a year
- 3,400
- People doing it (2025)
- 31,200
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
- Program computer systems or production equipment
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assemble equipment or components
- Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing
- Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects
What the work looks like
- Inspect materials, components, or products for surface defects and measure circuitry, using electronic test equipment, precision measuring instruments, microscope, and standard procedures.
- Study work orders, instructions, formulas, and processing charts to determine specifications and sequence of operations.
- Clean semiconductor wafers using cleaning equipment, such as chemical baths, automatic wafer cleaners, or blow-off wands.
- Maintain processing, production, and inspection information and reports.
- Stamp, etch, or scribe identifying information on finished component according to specifications.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
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Also known as: Diffusion Operator, Manufacturing Technician (Manufacturing Tech), Process Technician (Process Tech), Wafer Fabrication Operator, Device Processing Engineer, Manufacture Specialist, Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition Engineer (MOCVD Engineer), Probe Operator.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.