Michigan·Production Occupations·SOC 51-9141

Best Semiconductor Processing Technician programs in Michigan, ranked by enrollment

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.

5 schools in Michigan run programs that feed this job, graduating 36 people a year. The job pays a median of in Michigan across about 270 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDiffusion OperatorProcess TechnicianManufacturing TechnicianWafer Fabrication OperatorDie AttacherWafer MounterCrystal CutterCrystal Grower
Graduates / yr
36
in Michigan
Median pay · Michigan
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
270
people employed
Schools
5
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
31%
across those schools
Median net price
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Michigan that lead to this job

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

1 programs in Michigan that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Michigan (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 Michigan page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 47.0105In Michigan
36
100.0%
5$37,415$9,500

Top 5 schools in Michigan

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 5 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Michigan Career and Technical Institute
Plainwell, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
16Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician38%
2Washtenaw Community College
Ann Arbor, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
15Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician33%
3Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
2Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician47%91%
4Grand Rapids Community College
Grand Rapids, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
2Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician21%
5Macomb Community College
Warren, MI Public · 1 feeder programs
1Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician18%

All 5 schools in Michigan

Every school in Michigan 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 Michigan that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Michigan Career and Technical InstitutePlainwellPublic161
Washtenaw Community CollegeAnn ArborPublic151
Ferris State UniversityBig RapidsPublic21
Grand Rapids Community CollegeGrand RapidsPublic21
Macomb Community CollegeWarrenPublic11

What semiconductor processing technicians earn in Michigan

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

Median annual in Michigan
Mean annual
Jobs in state
270
Job concentration
0.30×

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

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+10.9%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
3,900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
3,500
31,900 → 35,400
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

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 Semiconductor Processing Technicians page.

How to become a Semiconductor Processing Technician

Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingReading ComprehensionMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingWriting

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Michigan

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 2 majors mapped to Semiconductor Processing Technicians2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.0616Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology/Technician
  • 47.0105Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing semiconductor processing technicians programs in Michigan.

What degree do you need to become a Semiconductor Processing Technician?+

High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician, which awarded 36 degrees in Michigan in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Semiconductor Processing Technician?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 36 people a year in Michigan.

Is demand for semiconductor processing technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +10.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 3,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

5 institutions in Michigan reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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 semiconductor processing technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Diffusion Operator, Process Technician, Manufacturing Technician, Wafer Fabrication Operator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-9141.

Semiconductor Processing Technicians in other statesArizonaArkansasCaliforniaTexasUtahPennsylvaniaWashingtonGeorgia

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

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