Also called: Mask Shop Technician
Helps make the ultra-precise glass 'stencils' (photomasks) that are used to print chip patterns onto wafers.
You work in an even cleaner room than the fab, inspecting quartz plates covered with microscopic patterns. You run them through inspection and repair tools that can fix a single tiny flaw with a laser or ion beam.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate degree in semiconductor or engineering technology.
Ways in: 2-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Semiconductor Technology (2-year), Optics Technology.
Growing faster than average.
Medium risk for 10 years. Mask making is highly automated, but inspection, repair and cleanroom handling still need trained techs.
Classes: Chemistry, Physics, Algebra II.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9141.
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.