Texas·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3026

Best Industrial Engineering Technologist programs in Texas, ranked by enrollment

Apply engineering theory and principles to problems of industrial layout or manufacturing production, usually under the direction of engineering staff.

36 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,465 people a year. The job pays a median of $62,020 in Texas across about 5,060 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledQuality TechnicianNanofabrication SpecialistManufacturing Technology AnalystIndustrial Engineering TechnicianR and D Engineer (Research and Development Engineer)Research Lab Associate (Research Laboratory Associate)Process Engineering Technician (Process Engineering Tech)Quality Control Engineering Technician (QC Engineering Technician)
Graduates / yr
1,465
in Texas
Median pay · Texas
$62,020
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
5,060
people employed
Schools
36
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
46%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,285
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job

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

5 programs in Texas that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (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 Texas page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 15.1501In Texas
527
36.0%
16$68,912$25,236
2
CIP 15.0612In Texas
480
32.8%
15$57,188$22,000
3
CIP 15.0613In Texas
431
29.4%
12$57,188$22,000
4
CIP 15.0001In Texas
14
1.0%
2$59,718$25,375
5
CIP 15.0703In Texas
13
0.9%
1$63,479$25,000

Top 25 schools in Texas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 36 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Lone Star College System
The Woodlands, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
258Industrial Technology/Technician$43,60221%
2Texas A&M University - College Station
College Station, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
155Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician$68,15484%57%
3Austin Community College District
Austin, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
150Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician20%
4Texas State Technical College
Waco, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
143Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician$64,48546%
5Lamar University
Beaumont, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
123Engineering/Industrial Management37%86%
6University of North Texas
Denton, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
120Engineering/Industrial Management61%72%
7The University of Texas at Tyler
Tyler, TX Public · 3 feeder programs
72Engineering/Industrial Management54%94%
8The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
51Engineering/Industrial Management54%80%
9University of Houston - Clear Lake
Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
42Engineering/Industrial Management52%91%
10Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
40Engineering/Industrial Management84%$33,24663%
11Tarleton State University
Stephenville, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
38Industrial Technology/Technician$55,03648%90%
12Rice University
Houston, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
30Engineering/Industrial Management95%$13,2648%
13The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
29Engineering/Industrial Management89%27%
14Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Kingsville, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
27Industrial Technology/Technician$50,03942%91%
15Northeast Texas Community College
Mount Pleasant, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
21Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician56%
16North Central Texas College
Gainesville, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
17Industrial Technology/Technician35%
17The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
15Industrial Technology/Technician40%95%
18East Texas A&M University
Commerce, TX Public · 2 feeder programs
13Industrial Technology/Technician43%92%
19Texas State University
San Marcos, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
13Engineering/Industrial Management55%89%
20University of Houston - Downtown
Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
13Industrial Safety Technology/Technician$51,84033%90%
21Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
11Applied Engineering Technologies/Technicians55%90%
22The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Edinburg, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
11Engineering/Industrial Management51%94%
23University of Houston
Houston, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
11Engineering/Industrial Management65%74%
24St. Mary's University
San Antonio, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Engineering/Industrial Management59%$21,28598%
25Kilgore College
Kilgore, TX Public · 1 feeder programs
6Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician39%

All 36 schools in Texas

Every school in Texas 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 Texas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Lone Star College SystemThe WoodlandsPublic2581
Texas A&M University - College StationCollege StationPublic1552
Austin Community College DistrictAustinPublic1501
Texas State Technical CollegeWacoPublic1432
Lamar UniversityBeaumontPublic1232
University of North TexasDentonPublic1201
The University of Texas at TylerTylerPublic723
The University of Texas at ArlingtonArlingtonPublic511
University of Houston - Clear LakeHoustonPublic421
Southern Methodist UniversityDallasPrivate not-for-profit401
Tarleton State UniversityStephenvillePublic382
Rice UniversityHoustonPrivate not-for-profit301
The University of Texas at AustinAustinPublic291
Texas A&M University - KingsvilleKingsvillePublic272
Northeast Texas Community CollegeMount PleasantPublic211

What industrial engineering technologists and technicians earn in Texas

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

Median annual in Texas
$62,020
Mean annual
$70,290
Jobs in state
5,060
What the range looks like
10th pct$45,650Median$62,02090th pct$103,340
Versus the national median
-6.2%

U.S. median $66,120. Texas pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.74×

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

Metro areas in Texas

Midland, TX
$114,140median
30 jobs
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
$121,320median
70 jobs
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
$77,190median
1,470 jobs
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
$62,010median
1,270 jobs
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
$52,000median
970 jobs
El Paso, TX
$55,840median
50 jobs
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
$55,310median
280 jobs
Waco, TX
$42,850median
70 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+1.7%
Little or no change
Openings per year
6,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
1,300
74,600 → 75,900
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 Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians page.

How to become a Industrial 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 ThinkingActive ListeningWritingMonitoringSpeaking

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Texas

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 8 majors mapped to Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.0001Applied Engineering Technologies/Technicians
  • 15.0612Industrial Technology/Technician
  • 15.0613Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.0699Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians, Other
  • 15.0703Industrial Safety Technology/Technician
  • 15.0705Process Safety Technology/Technician(no graduates reported)
  • 15.1501Engineering/Industrial Management
  • 15.1503Packaging Science

Common questions

Answers for people weighing industrial engineering technologists and technicians programs in Texas.

What degree do you need to become an Industrial 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 Engineering/Industrial Management, which awarded 527 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 36.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Industrial Engineering Technologist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians, Engineering-Related Fields, Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 1,465 people a year in Texas.

How much do industrial engineering technologists and technicians earn in Texas?+

The median is $62,020 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.2% below the U.S. median of $66,120. 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 industrial engineering technologists and technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +1.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 6,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

36 institutions in Texas reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 industrial engineering technologists and technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Quality Technician, Nanofabrication Specialist, Manufacturing Technology Analyst, Industrial Engineering Technician, R and D Engineer (Research and Development Engineer), Research Lab Associate (Research Laboratory Associate) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-3026.

Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians in other statesIndianaLouisianaAlabamaCaliforniaIllinoisMissouriNew YorkNorth Carolina

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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