Semiconductor Processing Technicians
SOC 51-9141 · 2024-2034
Perform any or all of the following functions in the manufacture of electronic semiconductors: load semiconductor material into furnace; saw formed ingots into segments; load individual segment into crystal growing chamber and monitor controls; locate crystal axis in ingot using x-ray equipment and saw ingots into wafers; and clean, polish, and load wafers into series of special purpose furnaces, chemical baths, and equipment used to form circuitry and change conductive properties.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
Shrinking -16.7%
California projects this job will shrink over the next ten years. Fewer openings may mean a harder search.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $49,126per year
- Projected openings
- 3,890
- Projected change
- -16.7%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Skills this work uses most
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, rates how important each of these is to this work, and they are listed in that order, most important first. The ratings themselves are not shown, because the data carries the number without the scale it was measured on. The names are as published, in English.
- Operations Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Active Listening
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $50,550 | 1,970 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $48,785 | 250 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $46,897 | 380 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $46,064 | 150 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $45,352 | 360 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $41,819 | 90 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $41,475
- A quarter earn under
- $47,070
- Half earn under
- $49,126
- Three quarters earn under
- $56,910
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $62,423
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $47,827 | 4,190 | -16.1% |
| Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $50,057 | 1,830 | -16% |
| Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | $46,927 | 3,620 | -5% |
| Engineers, All Other | $134,513 | 19,090 | +6.4% |
Programs that train for this job — 1
Cleanroom Technician
UCSB Extension · Santa Barbara · $2,500