Also called: Lab Testing Technician
Pulls, crushes, bends, and heats materials to measure their strength.
You load a steel bar into a machine that pulls it until it snaps, record the force, and test concrete cylinders from construction sites.
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 or on-the-job training.
Ways in: 2-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Materials Technology (2-year), Engineering Technology.
Growing about average. BLS does not project this specialty separately; rating estimated from related occupations.
Medium risk for 10 years. Automated testers record data on their own; loading samples and testing concrete on job sites stay hands-on.
Classes: Physics, Algebra II, Construction or metalshop CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-3029.
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