Best degree programs for Food Science Technicians, ranked by enrollment
10 college programs and 1,718 schools train Food Science Technicians. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $52,130 median wage, 14,600 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
10 college programs at 1,718 schools train food science technicians, graduating 122,875 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Biology/Biological Sciences, General. The job pays a median of $52,130 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About food science technicians
Work with food scientists or technologists to perform standardized qualitative and quantitative tests to determine physical or chemical properties of food or beverage products. Includes technicians who assist in research and development of production technology, quality control, packaging, processing, and use of foods.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
10 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 26.0101 | 90,079 | 73.3% | 1,660 | $32,152 | $25,000 |
| 2 | CIP 40.0501 | 18,075 | 14.7% | 1,168 | $42,620 | $23,900 |
| 3 | CIP 26.0202 | 10,036 | 8.2% | 593 | $38,243 | $23,014 |
| 4 | CIP 26.0502 | 2,497 | 2.0% | 109 | $38,383 | $22,065 |
| 5 | CIP 01.1001 | 1,565 | 1.3% | 65 | $51,883 | $21,000 |
| 6 | CIP 01.0401 | 187 | 0.2% | 17 | $48,505 | $23,250 |
| 7 | CIP 01.1099 | 126 | 0.1% | 14 | $51,883 | $21,000 |
| 8 | CIP 01.1003 | 113 | 0.1% | 19 | $51,883 | $21,000 |
| 9 | CIP 01.1005 | 99 | 0.1% | 4 | $51,883 | $21,000 |
| 10 | CIP 01.1002 | 98 | 0.1% | 20 | $51,883 | $21,000 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What food science technicians earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $54,200 | 3,990 | 2.34× | 173 | 18,372 |
| Texas | $47,760 | 900 | 0.68× | 100 | 10,369 |
| New York | $55,470 | 580 | 0.64× | 109 | 7,892 |
| Florida | $58,500 | 250 | 0.26× | 37 | 5,561 |
| Pennsylvania | $48,060 | 590 | 1.04× | 109 | 5,316 |
| North Carolina | $48,640 | 130 | 0.28× | 51 | 4,497 |
| Massachusetts | $56,850 | 260 | 0.75× | 62 | 4,284 |
| Ohio | $57,060 | 230 | 0.43× | 66 | 4,087 |
| Georgia | $53,150 | 260 | 0.56× | 50 | 3,964 |
| Virginia | $65,360 | 150 | 0.39× | 39 | 3,632 |
| Illinois | $60,820 | 290 | 0.51× | 50 | 3,394 |
| Michigan | $52,130 | 250 | 0.59× | 44 | 3,340 |
| New Jersey | $56,730 | 590 | 1.48× | 35 | 2,823 |
| Wisconsin | $55,690 | 540 | 1.96× | 32 | 2,493 |
| Indiana | $44,630 | 530 | 1.78× | 41 | 2,465 |
| South Carolina | $39,480 | 40 | 0.19× | 31 | 2,268 |
| Missouri | $59,570 | 150 | 0.54× | 45 | 2,228 |
| Minnesota | $57,940 | 380 | 1.36× | 47 | 2,128 |
| Washington | $62,070 | 660 | 1.98× | 33 | 2,125 |
| Maryland | $57,880 | 280 | 1.07× | 26 | 2,008 |
| Louisiana | $44,310 | 30 | 0.17× | 23 | 1,799 |
| Colorado | $58,540 | 270 | 1.02× | 27 | 1,721 |
| Alabama | $40,940 | 30 | 0.16× | 24 | 1,458 |
| Utah | $45,110 | 80 | 0.51× | 10 | 1,455 |
| Mississippi | $51,460 | 50 | 0.49× | 22 | 1,278 |
| Kentucky | $64,770 | 160 | 0.87× | 25 | 1,230 |
| Oregon | $50,590 | 820 | 4.45× | 24 | 1,229 |
| Oklahoma | $47,240 | 50 | 0.29× | 28 | 1,222 |
| Iowa | $50,740 | 420 | 2.86× | 40 | 1,204 |
| Connecticut | $49,700 | — | — | 19 | 1,022 |
| Nebraska | $48,530 | 170 | 1.77× | 19 | 977 |
| Arkansas | $46,810 | 140 | 1.12× | 20 | 935 |
| Kansas | $39,930 | 60 | 0.41× | 27 | 909 |
| New Mexico | $46,500 | 120 | 1.42× | 15 | 624 |
| Nevada | $59,070 | 110 | 0.72× | 5 | 579 |
| Idaho | $48,980 | 560 | 7.00× | 10 | 513 |
| Vermont | $60,980 | 50 | 1.84× | 7 | 352 |
| South Dakota | $48,760 | 100 | 2.23× | 9 | 314 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Taste or smell foods or beverages to ensure that flavors meet specifications or to select samples with specific characteristics.
- Measure, test, or weigh bottles, cans, or other containers to ensure that hardness, strength, or dimensions meet specifications.
- Maintain records of testing results or other documents as required by state or other governing agencies.
- Monitor and control temperature of products.
- Analyze test results to classify products or compare results with standard tables.
- Record or compile test results or prepare graphs, charts, or reports.
- Perform regular maintenance of laboratory equipment by inspecting, calibrating, cleaning, or sterilizing.
- Examine chemical or biological samples to identify cell structures or to locate bacteria or extraneous material, using a microscope.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.8
- Active Listening3.5
- Writing3.5
- Speaking3.5
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Science3.3
- Monitoring3.1
- Active Learning3.0
Knowledge areas
- Food Production3.8
- Production and Processing3.7
- Chemistry3.5
- English Language3.4
- Computers and Electronics3.1
- Biology3.1
Abilities
- Near Vision3.9
- Oral Expression3.8
- Written Expression3.8
- Written Comprehension3.8
- Oral Comprehension3.8
- Deductive Reasoning3.6
Core activities
- Training and Teaching Others4.3
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.3
- Working with Computers4.2
- Documenting/Recording Information4.2
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.1
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Food Science Technician
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
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.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 10 majors mapped to Food Science Technicians10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0401Agricultural and Food Products Processing
- 01.1001Food Science
- 01.1002Food Technology and Processing
- 01.1003Brewing Science
- 01.1005Zymology/Fermentation Science
- 01.1099Food Science and Technology, Other
- 26.0101Biology/Biological Sciences, General
- 26.0202Biochemistry
- 26.0502Microbiology, General
- 40.0501Chemistry, General
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Food Science Technician?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Biology/Biological Sciences, General, which awarded 90,079 degrees in 2024-25, 73.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Food Science Technician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 10 programs to this occupation. The largest are Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 122,875 people a year.
How much do food science technicians earn?+
The median is $52,130 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $39,820 at the 10th percentile to $78,820 at the 90th. 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 food science technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +4.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 3,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
1,718 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 10 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 food science technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech), Central Laboratory Technician (CLT), QC Tech (Quality Control Technician), Quality Assurance Analyst (QA Analyst) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4013.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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