Florida·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3027

Best Mechanical Engineering Technologist programs in Florida, ranked by enrollment

Apply theory and principles of mechanical engineering to modify, develop, test, or adjust machinery and equipment under direction of engineering staff or physical.

7 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 240 people a year. The job pays a median of $59,720 in Florida across about 540 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledMechanical DesignerResearch TechnicianLaboratory Technician (Lab Technician)Mechanical Technician (Mechanical Tech)Engineering Technician (Engineering Tech)Research and Development Technician (R and D Tech)Motor TesterTool Analyst
Graduates / yr
240
in Florida
Median pay · Florida
$59,720
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
540
people employed
Schools
7
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
44%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Florida that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Florida that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Florida (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Florida page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 15.0803In Florida
219
91.2%
6$61,021$24,436
2
CIP 15.0805In Florida
21
8.8%
1$61,021$24,436

Top 7 schools in Florida

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 7 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Seminole State College of Florida
Sanford, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
95Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician$36,45341%
2Indian River State College
Fort Pierce, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
44Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician45%
3Broward College
Fort Lauderdale, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
40Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician39%
4Pensacola State College
Pensacola, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
21Mechanical/Mechanical Engineering Technology/Technician36%
5Florida State College at Jacksonville
Jacksonville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
20Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician37%
6Florida Gateway College
Lake City, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
11Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician54%
7Santa Fe College
Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
9Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician53%

All 7 schools in Florida

Every school in Florida with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Florida that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Seminole State College of FloridaSanfordPublic951
Indian River State CollegeFort PiercePublic441
Broward CollegeFort LauderdalePublic401
Pensacola State CollegePensacolaPublic211
Florida State College at JacksonvilleJacksonvillePublic201
Florida Gateway CollegeLake CityPublic111
Santa Fe CollegeGainesvillePublic91

What mechanical engineering technologists and technicians earn in Florida

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Florida
$59,720
Mean annual
$59,650
Jobs in state
540
What the range looks like
10th pct$37,830Median$59,72090th pct$82,410
Versus the national median
-19.8%

U.S. median $74,510. Florida pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.24×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Florida

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
$77,290median
90 jobs
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
$53,140median
200 jobs
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
$56,580median
60 jobs
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
avg
80 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
0.0%
Little or no change
Openings per year
3,200
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
0
38,300 → 38,300
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians page.

How to become a Mechanical Engineering Technologist

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingSpeakingActive ListeningWritingMathematics

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Florida

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 4 majors mapped to Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.0803Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.0805Mechanical/Mechanical Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.0899Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians, Other
  • 15.1103Hydraulics and Fluid Power Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing mechanical engineering technologists and technicians programs in Florida.

What degree do you need to become a Mechanical Engineering Technologist?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician, which awarded 219 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 91.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Mechanical Engineering Technologist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 240 people a year in Florida.

How much do mechanical engineering technologists and technicians earn in Florida?+

The median is $59,720 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 19.8% below the U.S. median of $74,510. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for mechanical engineering technologists and technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +0.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 3,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Florida?+

7 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do mechanical engineering technologists and technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Mechanical Designer, Research Technician, Laboratory Technician (Lab Technician), Mechanical Technician (Mechanical Tech), Engineering Technician (Engineering Tech), Research and Development Technician (R and D Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-3027.

Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians in other statesOhioVirginiaNew YorkNorth CarolinaIndianaMichiganNew JerseyUtah

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

All Clema data sources and release dates →

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation

Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card