Rhode Island·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3023

Best Electrical programs in Rhode Island, ranked by enrollment

Apply electrical and electronic theory and related knowledge, usually under the direction of engineering staff, to design, build, repair, adjust, and modify electrical components, circuitry, controls, and machinery for subsequent.

3 schools in Rhode Island run programs that feed this job, graduating 26 people a year. The job pays a median of $98,600 in Rhode Island across about 290 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledTechnologistEngineering TechnologistElectronics Engineering TechnicianEngineering Technician (Engineering Tech)PrototyperTechnicianRelay TesterParts Designer
Graduates / yr
26
in Rhode Island
Median pay · Rhode Island
$98,600
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
290
people employed
Schools
3
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
47%
across those schools
Median net price
$36,659
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Rhode Island that lead to this job

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

3 programs in Rhode Island that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Rhode Island (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 Rhode Island page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
112
46.2%
2$59,859$15,372
212
46.2%
1$59,859$15,372
32
7.7%
1$48,829$21,696

Top 3 schools in Rhode Island

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 3 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1New England Institute of Technology
East Greenwich, RI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
23Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other$70,64760%$36,65967%
2Community College of Rhode Island
Warwick, RI Public · 1 feeder programs
2Computer Engineering Technology/Technician26%
3Johnson & Wales University - Providence
Providence, RI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$72,12055%$31,63488%

All 3 schools in Rhode Island

Every school in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
New England Institute of TechnologyEast GreenwichPrivate not-for-profit232
Community College of Rhode IslandWarwickPublic21
Johnson & Wales University - ProvidenceProvidencePrivate not-for-profit11

What electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians earn in Rhode Island

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

Median annual in Rhode Island
$98,600
Mean annual
$93,610
Jobs in state
290
What the range looks like
10th pct$57,460Median$98,60090th pct$128,280
Versus the national median
+26.1%

U.S. median $78,190. Rhode Island pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.95×

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

Metro areas in Rhode Island

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
$82,240median
450 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+0.6%
Little or no change
Openings per year
8,400
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
600
93,700 → 94,300
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 Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians page.

How to become a Electrical

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 ThinkingActive ListeningWritingSpeakingMonitoring

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Rhode Island

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 9 majors mapped to Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.0000Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General
  • 15.0303Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.0305Telecommunications Technology/Technician
  • 15.0306Integrated Circuit Design Technology/Technician
  • 15.0399Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other
  • 15.0406Automation Engineer Technology/Technician
  • 15.0616Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology/Technician
  • 15.1201Computer Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.1202Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians programs in Rhode Island.

What degree do you need to become an Electrical?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician, which awarded 12 degrees in Rhode Island in 2024-25, 46.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Electrical?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 26 people a year in Rhode Island.

How much do electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians earn in Rhode Island?+

The median is $98,600 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 26.1% above the U.S. median of $78,190. 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 electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +0.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 8,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Rhode Island?+

3 institutions in Rhode Island reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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 electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Technologist, Engineering Technologist, Electronics Engineering Technician, Engineering Technician (Engineering Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-3023.

Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians in other statesIllinoisVirginiaOhioTexasFloridaCaliforniaTennesseeKentucky

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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