Virginia·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3023

Best Electrical programs in Virginia, 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.

27 schools in Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,553 people a year. The job pays a median of $79,540 in Virginia across about 4,670 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledTechnologistEngineering TechnologistElectronics Engineering TechnicianEngineering Technician (Engineering Tech)PrototyperTechnicianRelay TesterParts Designer
Graduates / yr
1,553
in Virginia
Median pay · Virginia
$79,540
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
4,670
people employed
Schools
27
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
42%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,909
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Virginia that lead to this job

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

6 programs in Virginia that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Virginia (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 Virginia page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 15.0303In Virginia
1,176
75.7%
24$59,859$15,372
2
CIP 15.0406In Virginia
151
9.7%
1$60,286$15,383
3
CIP 15.0000In Virginia
107
6.9%
10$59,718$25,375
4
CIP 15.1202In Virginia
107
6.9%
1$48,829$21,696
5
CIP 15.1201In Virginia
7
0.5%
1$48,829$21,696
6
CIP 15.0399In Virginia
5
0.3%
1$59,859$15,372

Top 25 schools in Virginia

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 27 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Northern Virginia Community College
Annandale, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
281Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician33%
2ECPI University
Virginia Beach, VA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
258Automation Engineer Technology/Technician$64,35942%$21,90975%
3Brightpoint Community College
Chester, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
140Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$39,20438%
4New River Community College
Dublin, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
110Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$60,18350%
5Blue Ridge Community College
Weyers Cave, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
71Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician40%
6Central Virginia Community College
Lynchburg, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
69Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician45%
7Virginia Western Community College
Roanoke, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
60Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$40,10440%
8Laurel Ridge Community College
Middletown, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
57Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician45%
9J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Richmond, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
51Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician32%
10Virginia Peninsula Community College
Hampton, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
51Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician34%
11Danville Community College
Danville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
50Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$57,53339%
12Tidewater Community College
Norfolk, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
47Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician$56,97132%
13Southwest Virginia Community College
Cedar Bluff, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
43Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician46%
14Mountain Empire Community College
Big Stone Gap, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
40Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician48%
15Advanced Technology Institute
Virginia Beach, VA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
34Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician79%$19,84854%
16Patrick & Henry Community College
Martinsville, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
34Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician42%
17Rappahannock Community College
Glenns, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
26Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician45%
18Germanna Community College
Locust Grove, VA Public · 2 feeder programs
25Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician46%
19Mountain Gateway Community College
Clifton Forge, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
23Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician38%
20Eastern Shore Community College
Melfa, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
20Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician41%
21Southside Virginia Community College
Alberta, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
17Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician42%
22Wytheville Community College
Wytheville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
12Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician47%
23Virginia Highlands Community College
Abingdon, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
10Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician40%
24Piedmont Virginia Community College
Charlottesville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
8Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician39%
25Norfolk State University
Norfolk, VA Public · 1 feeder programs
7Computer Engineering Technology/Technician38%88%

All 27 schools in Virginia

Every school in Virginia 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 Virginia that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Northern Virginia Community CollegeAnnandalePublic2812
ECPI UniversityVirginia BeachPrivate for-profit2582
Brightpoint Community CollegeChesterPublic1401
New River Community CollegeDublinPublic1102
Blue Ridge Community CollegeWeyers CavePublic712
Central Virginia Community CollegeLynchburgPublic692
Virginia Western Community CollegeRoanokePublic601
Laurel Ridge Community CollegeMiddletownPublic572
J Sargeant Reynolds Community CollegeRichmondPublic512
Virginia Peninsula Community CollegeHamptonPublic511
Danville Community CollegeDanvillePublic501
Tidewater Community CollegeNorfolkPublic472
Southwest Virginia Community CollegeCedar BluffPublic431
Mountain Empire Community CollegeBig Stone GapPublic401
Advanced Technology InstituteVirginia BeachPrivate for-profit341

What electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians earn in Virginia

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

Median annual in Virginia
$79,540
Mean annual
$86,060
Jobs in state
4,670
What the range looks like
10th pct$56,920Median$79,54090th pct$123,610
Versus the national median
+1.7%

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

Job concentration
1.86×

Concentrated here: Virginia employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Virginia

Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC
$96,870median
1,430 jobs
Richmond, VA
$85,510median
480 jobs
Roanoke, VA
$77,740median
120 jobs
Lynchburg, VA
$77,910median
80 jobs
Charlottesville, VA
$74,100median
110 jobs
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA
$61,460median
150 jobs
Harrisonburg, VA
$45,840median
40 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 Virginia

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 Virginia.

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 1,176 degrees in Virginia in 2024-25, 75.7% 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 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians, Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Engineering Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 1,553 people a year in Virginia.

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

The median is $79,540 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.7% 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 Virginia?+

27 institutions in Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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 statesIllinoisOhioTexasFloridaCaliforniaTennesseeKentuckyNew York

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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