Post job

Automation engineering technician education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an automation engineering technician. Automation engineering technicians usually study electrical engineering, electrical engineering technology, or industrial technology. 52% of automation engineering technicians hold a bachelor's degree, and 35% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 148 real automation engineering technician resumes to see exactly what automation engineering technician education sections show.

The most common colleges for automation engineering technicians are the University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Southern Mississippi.

There are also many online automation engineering technician courses to help get the education required to be an automation engineering technician.

What education do you need to become an automation engineering technician?

What degree do you need to be an automation engineering technician?

The most common degree for automation engineering technicians is bachelor's degree, with 52% of automation engineering technicians earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 35% and associate degree degree at 5%.
  • Bachelor's, 52%
  • Associate, 35%
  • Master's, 5%
  • Diploma, 2%
  • Other Degrees, 6%

What should I major in to become an automation engineering technician?

You should major in electrical engineering to become an automation engineering technician. 31% of automation engineering technicians major in electrical engineering. Other common majors for an automation engineering technician include electrical engineering technology and industrial technology.

Most common colleges for automation engineering technicians

Automation engineering technicians often get their degrees at University of Southern Mississippi, Minnesota State University - Mankato, and University of Phoenix. Here are the most common colleges for automation engineering technicians in the US based on their resumes.
Automation engineering technician common collegePercentages
University of Southern Mississippi12.50%
Minnesota State University - Mankato8.33%
University of Phoenix8.33%
University of Southern Maine4.17%
Louisiana State University and A&M College4.17%

Best majors for automation engineering technicians

Best colleges for automation engineering technicians

The best colleges for automation engineering technicians are Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Stanford University.

An automation engineering technician with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for automation engineering technicians. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become automation engineering technicians.

1. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

4. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,465

Enrollment

6,483

5. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,382

Enrollment

5,597

6. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

8. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

9. Michigan Technological University

Houghton, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,646

Enrollment

5,736

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

20 best online courses for automation engineering technicians

Advertising disclosure

1. Network Automation Engineering Fundamentals

coursera

The Network Automation Engineering Fundamentals Specialization takes mid- to expert-level network engineers through the primary topics of network automation and programmability and prepares them for the NetDevOps environment. This Specialization serves as a well-rounded survey of topics and core skills that a network automation engineer should know to effectively deploy and operate a NetDevOps environment.\n\nCompleting this Specialization will help you prepare to operate as a network...

2. Practical - ISTQB - Test Automation Engineer Course 2023

udemy
4.1
(261)

Learn the concepts, methods and tools to pass the ISTQB - Advanced Level - Test Automation Engineer Certification Exam...

3. Factory Automation using PLC Logics

udemy
4.3
(700)

Interactive 3D platform to build and simulate Industrial Automation system...

4. From Wire to PLC , A Bootcamp In Industrial Automation

udemy
4.7
(5,921)

Build Electrical Automation Projects From Sctratch. Starting From Wires , Control Circuits And Ending With PLC And HMI...

5. Microsoft Power Automate: Learn Power Automate Desktop & Web

udemy
4.4
(1,001)

Guide To Power Automate: Learn Microsoft Power Automate Cloud & Web Tasks, Power Automate desktop with powerapps MS Flow...

6. Test Automation Foundations

udemy
4.3
(1,161)

Learn everything you need to kick-start your Test Automation Career...

7. Elevate Your Thinking: Automation & SCADA Mastery

udemy
4.2
(325)

Unlocking PLC Programming and Exploring the Expansive World of Automation with Regular Updates and More !...

8. Power Automate - Complete Guide to Microsoft Power Automate

udemy
4.5
(9,346)

Automate all your tasks using Microsoft Power Automate (Microsoft Flow) with the only complete basic to advanced guide...

9. Java (and Cucumber) for Automation Testing

udemy
4.5
(580)

Master Java for Test Automation. Java for Testers/Test Automation Engineers/QA. Interview Assignments & Coding Exercises...

10. Automated Test Framework: ServiceNow

udemy
4.3
(587)

Automated Test Framework...

11. Elegant Browser Automation with Python and Selenium

udemy
4.6
(1,895)

Fast, scalable, professional-grade UI automation principles...

12. Automated Software Testing with TestCafe

udemy
4.5
(1,054)

[2023 Updated] Learn a great alternative to Cypress & Playwright - Web automation testing from Beginner to Expert...

13. Test Automation with Katalon Studio (Selenium WebDriver)

udemy
4.5
(632)

Katalon Studio - Keyword driven tool written on top of Selenium for Web Application Automation API Testing...

14. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) - Automation Anywhere v11

udemy
4.5
(702)

Learn how to build robots using Automation Anywhere v11!...

15. Selenium WebDriver Test Automation Framework With Real Project

udemy
4
(395)

Build Enterprise-Level Test Automation Framework with Real Web Gmail Project...

16. Automation Anywhere 360/A2019 - Complete RPA Training Course

udemy
4.5
(854)

Learn Robotic Process Automation (RPA) with Automation Anywhere (Automation 360) from scratch - Build 7 Robots...

17. RPA & Intelligent Automation Using Python

udemy
4.3
(362)

Excel Automation Extract from PDFs & Images Web Scraping With In-depth coverage of Python...

18. Learn RPA Automation Anywhere 11 From Scratch

udemy
4
(258)

RPA Automation Anywhere Beginner Guide...

19. Test Automation for Beginners [Selenium-Cypress-Playwright]

udemy
4.4
(419)

All steps that you need to begin your Test Automation Journey...

20. Microsoft Power Automate (Flow) Ultimate Guide

udemy
4.3
(330)

Everything you need to know about Microsoft Power Automate (Flow)...

Top 10 most affordable universities for automation engineering technicians

The most affordable schools for automation engineering technicians are California State University - Long Beach, california state university - los angeles, and university of puerto rico - mayaguez.

If the best universities for automation engineering technicians are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for automation engineering technicians.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

2. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

3. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

4. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

5. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

6. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

7. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Cost of attendance

21,302

8. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

9. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

10. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for automation engineering technicians

The hardest universities for automation engineering technicians to get into are Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Stanford University.

Some great schools for automation engineering technicians are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for automation engineering technicians based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

2. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

4. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

5. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

6. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

8. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

9. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA • Private

Admissions rate

7%

SAT average

1,566

10. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for automation engineering technicians

The easiest schools for automation engineering technicians to get into are Oregon Institute of Technology, texas a&m; university - kingsville, and saint martin's university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an automation engineering technician without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for automation engineering technicians.

1. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

2. Texas A&M University - Kingsville

Kingsville, TX • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,035

3. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

4. Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud, MN • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

1,086

5. Indiana State University

Terre Haute, IN • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,019

6. San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,054

7. The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,046

8. Portland State University

Portland, OR • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,111

9. Central Washington University

Ellensburg, WA • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,062

10. Lamar University

Beaumont, TX • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,043

Average automation engineering technician salary by education level

Automation engineering technicians with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $97,128 annually. With a Associate degree, automation engineering technicians earn a median annual income of $94,035 compared to $92,780 for automation engineering technicians with an Bachelor's degree.
Automation engineering technician education levelAutomation engineering technician salary
Master's Degree$97,128
High School Diploma or Less$89,105
Bachelor's Degree$92,780
Some College/ Associate Degree$94,035

Automation engineering technician education FAQs

Search for automation engineering technician jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse architecture and engineering jobs