Installs and calibrates the sensors and controls that run refineries, power plants, and factories.
You climb to a pressure sensor on a chemical tower, calibrate it with a hand-held tester, and fix a valve that is not responding to the control room.
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 instrumentation or industrial technology, or an apprenticeship.
Ways in: 2-year college, Apprenticeship, Military. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Instrumentation Technology, Industrial Electronics.
Growing about average. No separate BLS projection for this specialty; rating is an estimate based on industry trends.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Smart sensors self-diagnose and AI flags drift, trimming routine calibration; field troubleshooting in plants still needs a technician.
Classes: Physics, Chemistry, Electronics CTE, Algebra II.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-3024.
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.