Industrial Tech

Types of Degrees Industrial Tech Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many industrial technology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,163
Associate Degree	896
Basic Certificate	781
Master’s Degree	568
Undergraduate Certificate	482
Graduate Certificate	13
Doctor’s Degree	5

What Industrial Tech Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to industrial tech and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Industrial Tech Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in industrial tech should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Industrial Tech Majors

A major in industrial tech prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Industrial Tech Majors

Industrial Tech majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Industrial Tech Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with industrial tech:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Industrial Engineering Technicians	0.6%	$55,460

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Tech?

This major attracts more men than women. About 82% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of industrial tech majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	39
Black or African American	167
Hispanic or Latino	191
White	671
International Students	25
Other Races/Ethnicities	70

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Industrial Tech. About 2.1% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Industrial Tech

Some careers associated with industrial tech require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to industrial tech have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	9.7%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	12.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.3%
Some College Courses	36.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	25.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	14.7%

Online Industrial Tech Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	46	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	111	2
Bachelor’s Degree	2	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	15	3
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Majors Related to Industrial Tech

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to industrial tech.

Major	Number of Grads
Manufacturing Engineering Technology	4,613
Other Industrial Production Technologies	1,967
Welding Engineering Technology	326
Plastics & Polymer Engineering Technology	315
Composite Materials Technology	88
Metallurgical Technology	75
Chemical Engineering Technology	49
Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology	10

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By ICAPlants under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.