Life As a Manufacturing Production Technician
Career Description Set up, test, and adjust manufacturing machinery or equipment, using any combination of electrical, electronic, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or computer technologies.
Daily Life Of a Manufacturing Production Technician
- Plan and lay out work to meet production and schedule requirements.
- Separate scrap or waste materials for recycling, reuse, or environmentally sound disposal.
- Install new manufacturing equipment.
- Provide advice or training to other technicians.
- Maintain inventory of job materials.
- Calibrate or adjust equipment to ensure quality production, using tools such as calipers, micrometers, height gauges, protractors, or ring gauges.
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What a Manufacturing Production Technician Should Know
When polled, Manufacturing Production Technicians say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Other Manufacturing Production Technician Job Titles
- Manufacturing Specialist
- Manufacturing Production Technician
- Quality Technician
- Final Operations Technician
- Engineering Technician
Are There Job Opportunities for Manufacturing Production Technicians?
In the United States, there were 76,800 jobs for Manufacturing Production Technician in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 5.2% which is below the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 4,000 new jobs for Manufacturing Production Technician by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 7,100 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Manufacturing Production Technician are Utah, Nevada, and Connecticut. Watch out if you plan on working in Vermont, West Virginia, or South Dakota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
What is the Average Salary of a Manufacturing Production Technician
Manufacturing Production Technicians make between $36,120 and $98,720 a year.

Manufacturing Production Technicians who work in District of Columbia, Maryland, or Maine, make the highest salaries.
How much do Manufacturing Production Technicians make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $59,380 |
Alaska | $71,850 |
Arizona | $59,210 |
Arkansas | $60,310 |
California | $71,420 |
Colorado | $63,590 |
Connecticut | $64,510 |
Delaware | $51,380 |
District of Columbia | $92,600 |
Florida | $58,860 |
Georgia | $59,830 |
Hawaii | $76,070 |
Idaho | $55,540 |
Illinois | $63,760 |
Indiana | $58,450 |
Iowa | $57,620 |
Kansas | $65,870 |
Kentucky | $58,880 |
Louisiana | $59,930 |
Maine | $79,670 |
Maryland | $84,790 |
Massachusetts | $64,220 |
Michigan | $64,270 |
Minnesota | $57,440 |
Mississippi | $60,500 |
Missouri | $59,830 |
Montana | $59,810 |
Nebraska | $57,630 |
Nevada | $71,330 |
New Hampshire | $57,730 |
New Jersey | $75,380 |
New Mexico | $78,160 |
New York | $63,780 |
North Carolina | $63,600 |
North Dakota | $75,030 |
Ohio | $61,060 |
Oklahoma | $63,790 |
Oregon | $56,890 |
Pennsylvania | $57,210 |
Rhode Island | $73,240 |
South Carolina | $70,820 |
South Dakota | $51,110 |
Tennessee | $57,800 |
Texas | $66,630 |
Utah | $56,480 |
Vermont | $58,960 |
Virginia | $77,280 |
Washington | $74,810 |
West Virginia | $70,550 |
Wisconsin | $58,780 |
Wyoming | $67,110 |
What Tools & Technology do Manufacturing Production Technicians Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Manufacturing Production Technicians may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Data entry software
- SAP
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Extensible markup language XML
- Minitab
- National Instruments LabVIEW
- Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
- Enterprise JavaBeans
- Cadence PSpice
- National Instruments Multisim
- Computer numerical control CNC software
- Labeling software
Becoming a Manufacturing Production Technician
What education or degrees do I need to become a Manufacturing Production Technician?

How Long Does it Take to Become a Manufacturing Production Technician?

Where Manufacturing Production Technicians Are Employed

Below are examples of industries where Manufacturing Production Technicians work:

Similar Careers
Those interested in being a Manufacturing Production Technician may also be interested in:
Are you already one of the many Manufacturing Production Technician in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
References:
Image Credit: PA1 David J. Schuhlein via Public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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