Semiconductor Processing Technicians
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.
- O*NET-SOC code
51-9141.00 - Preparation Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$51,430
Employment, U.S.31,460
Median hourly wage$24.73
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $37,690 | $45,640 | $51,430 | $65,010 | $82,540 |
By state (21)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 2,270 | $78,940 | 3.46 |
| Arkansas | 40 | $40,610 | 0.16 |
| California | 4,650 | $48,030 | 1.26 |
| Colorado | 790 | $52,360 | 1.35 |
| Connecticut | 50 | $47,000 | 0.13 |
| Florida | 190 | $62,330 | 0.09 |
| Georgia | $48,580 | ||
| Maine | 320 | $47,270 | 2.46 |
| Maryland | 120 | $47,610 | 0.21 |
| Massachusetts | 1,190 | $51,410 | 1.62 |
| Michigan | 270 | Not available | 0.30 |
| Minnesota | $57,780 | ||
| Nevada | $37,290 | ||
| New Hampshire | 130 | $47,710 | 0.96 |
| New York | 1,750 | $49,400 | 0.89 |
| North Carolina | 60 | $56,160 | 0.06 |
| Oregon | 6,620 | $63,330 | 16.63 |
| Pennsylvania | 340 | $46,430 | 0.27 |
| Texas | 6,110 | $38,440 | 2.15 |
| Utah | 120 | $40,760 | 0.34 |
| Washington | 990 | $58,710 | 1.38 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers | 1-2 | 0.951 |
| 2 | Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders | 1-2 | 0.950 |
| 3 | Printing Press Operators | 1-2 | 0.950 |
| 4 | Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers | 1-2 | 0.948 |
| 5 | Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers | 1-2 | 0.948 |
| 6 | Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians | 1-2 | 0.944 |
| 7 | Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 1-2 | 0.944 |
| 8 | Etchers and Engravers | 1-2 | 0.944 |
| 9 | Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers | 1-2 | 0.943 |
| 10 | Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 1-2 | 0.943 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Semiconductor Processing Technicians, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders | Operation and Control | 1.00 | 0.950 |
| Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators | Operation and Control | 0.87 | 0.940 |
| Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders | Operation and Control | 0.87 | 0.940 |
| Biomass Plant Technicians | Learning Strategies | 1.00 | 0.939 |
| Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators | Service Orientation | 1.00 | 0.938 |
| Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | Operation and Control | 1.00 | 0.938 |
| Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | Operation and Control | 0.87 | 0.936 |
| Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | Operation and Control | 1.00 | 0.935 |
| Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | Operation and Control | 1.00 | 0.930 |
| Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders | Active Learning | 0.87 | 0.930 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Semiconductor Processing Technicians, excluding software Semiconductor Processing Technicians already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Operational databases | 4 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Computerized maintenance management system CMMS | 3 of 20 | 4.6x |
| Adobe Illustrator | 5 of 20 | 2.3x |
| Adobe InDesign | 4 of 20 | 2.1x |
| Microsoft Publisher | 3 of 20 | 1.5x |
| Microsoft Outlook | 15 of 20 | 1.1x |
| Adobe Photoshop | 4 of 20 | 1.3x |
| Adobe Acrobat | 3 of 20 | 0.8x |
| Autodesk AutoCAD | 3 of 20 | 0.8x |
| Microsoft Windows | 4 of 20 | 0.8x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 3.62 | 3.50 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.38 | 3.38 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.38 | 2.88 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.25 | 2.88 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.62 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 2.50 | 2.25 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 2.38 | 2.12 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 1.88 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 1.75 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.62 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.38 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 1.88 | 1.75 |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.88 | 1.25 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 1.00 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.88 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.38 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Production and Processing | 3.90 | 3.70 |
| English Language | 3.78 | 3.88 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.40 | 2.29 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.37 | 3.77 |
| Education and Training | 3.26 | 3.37 |
| Chemistry | 3.24 | 3.09 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.97 | 2.48 |
| Mathematics | 2.87 | 2.89 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.67 | 2.22 |
| Administration and Management | 2.41 | 2.44 |
| Mechanical | 2.41 | 1.73 |
| Communications and Media | 2.26 | 1.81 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 2.09 | not rated |
| Telecommunications | 2.03 | 0.77 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.97 | not rated |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 1.89 | 0.71 |
| Administrative | 1.82 | 1.20 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.76 | 1.24 |
| Transportation | 1.74 | 0.49 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.69 | not rated |
| Design | 1.69 | 0.76 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.62 | not rated |
| Law and Government | 1.60 | not rated |
| Psychology | 1.54 | 0.65 |
| Foreign Language | 1.51 | 0.39 |
| Physics | 1.46 | 0.90 |
| Building and Construction | 1.37 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.31 | not rated |
| Geography | 1.31 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.28 | not rated |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.27 | not rated |
| Biology | 1.20 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.14 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Near Vision | 3.63 | 3.63 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.50 | 3.38 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.50 | 3.38 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.38 | 3.38 |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.25 | 3.63 |
| Oral Expression | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Control Precision | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.25 | 3.13 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.13 | 3.38 |
| Information Ordering | 3.13 | 3.25 |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.13 | 3.13 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.13 | 3.00 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 3.13 | 2.88 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.00 | 3.13 |
| Visualization | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Category Flexibility | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Speech Clarity | 2.88 | 2.63 |
| Selective Attention | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.75 | 2.63 |
| Static Strength | 2.75 | 2.63 |
| Rate Control | 2.75 | 2.50 |
| Far Vision | 2.63 | 2.50 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.63 | 2.50 |
| Response Orientation | 2.38 | 2.75 |
| Reaction Time | 2.38 | 2.63 |
| Depth Perception | 2.38 | 2.50 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 2.38 | 2.13 |
| Originality | 2.38 | 2.13 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.38 | 2.00 |
| Memorization | 2.25 | 2.38 |
| Time Sharing | 2.25 | 2.13 |
| Stamina | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.25 | 1.88 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.13 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.13 | 1.88 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.13 | 1.75 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Number Facility | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.00 | 1.63 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.75 | 1.13 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.75 | 1.13 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.63 | 1.13 |
| Night Vision | 1.63 | 0.75 |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.63 | 0.75 |
| Sound Localization | 1.63 | 0.75 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft PowerPoint in demand
- Python in demand
- SAP software in demand
- Microsoft Word hot
- Camstar Systems Camstar Semiconductor Suite
- Database software
- Eyelit Manufacturing
- National Instruments TestStand
- yieldWerx
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 7,290 | 29.81 | $62,810 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 2,130 | 9.28 | $50,820 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | 320 | 5.46 | $47,270 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 2,260 | 4.70 | $78,940 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 3,190 | 3.90 | $38,440 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 680 | 1.42 | $46,340 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 560 | 1.02 | $59,110 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 290 | 0.94 | $47,200 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 1,080 | 0.85 | $40,770 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 110 | 0.38 | Not available |