Also called: Module Production Technician, PV Manufacturing Technician
Runs and fixes the robots, laminators and testing machines on assembly lines that build solar panels in new US factories.
On the factory floor in Georgia, you watch robots lay solar cells into rows and solder them together. When a laminator throws an error, you clear it and get the line moving again. You check finished panels on a flash tester that measures their power.
Estimated from US solar factory postings; shift pay adds more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 0.5 years after high school. High school diploma plus factory training; a mechatronics certificate helps.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Trade school, 2-year college. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Mechatronics, Industrial Maintenance, Electronics Technology.
Growing faster than average. Many new solar panel factories opened in the US since 2023.
Medium risk for 10 years. Factory lines are highly automated, but technicians keep the robots and machines running.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at solar panel factories for production technician jobs
Classes: Physics, Electronics CTE, Robotics club.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-2028.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.