How To Become An Equipment Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an equipment engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

If you don't want to become an electrical or mechanical engineer but would still like a combination of both fields, you may consider studying to become an equipment engineer. Equipment engineers are responsible for designing, enhancing and maintaining mechanical, computer, or electrical devices.

In order to qualify for any position as an equipment engineer, you need to have a bachelor's degree in an engineering field. The requirements of licensure are different for each state. A person with good analytical and communication skills who can analyze and resolve equipment maintenance issues can become an equipment engineer.

In the US, equipment engineers earn more than $87,000 per year with an hourly salary of $42. The bottom 10% of equipment engineers earn under $66,000 in a year, while the experienced engineers can make over $110,000 per year. It is a great career choice with an expected growth of 4% in the next ten years.

What general advice would you give to an equipment engineer?

Marco Schoen Ph.D.

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Measurement and Control Engineering Research Center (MCERC), Idaho State University

Stay current. Engineering evolves continuously; new tools, new technologies, and new areas where engineers can contribute, learn, and work. When graduating, students have the feeling they are set for their careers. However, this is not true; they might be set to start their careers. To be consistently successful in their pages, they need to stay informed and updated.

ScoreEquipment EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $97,539

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 15.14%

Black or African American 3.19%

Hispanic or Latino 8.35%

Unknown 4.54%

White 68.67%

Gender

female 8.29%

male 91.71%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an equipment engineer

Explore equipment engineer education requirements

Most common equipment engineer degrees

Bachelor's

69.4 %

Associate

16.9 %

Master's

8.6 %

Start to develop specific equipment engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Equipment Performance	4.64%
Semiconductor	4.60%
Project Management	4.47%
CAD	3.85%
Preventive Maintenance	3.59%

Complete relevant equipment engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New equipment engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an equipment engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real equipment engineer resumes.

Research equipment engineer duties and responsibilities

Translate all the information relate to the machines in order to get accomplish to all the ISO regulations.
Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
Assist with trouble-shooting and repair of CVD and PVD systems.
Perform daily SPC (statistical process control) trend monitoring to identify/troubleshoot defect/thickness issues and implementing proper actions are taken.

Prepare your equipment engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your equipment engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an equipment engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable equipment engineer resume templates

Build a professional equipment engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your equipment engineer resume.

Apply for equipment engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an equipment engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do equipment engineers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Equipment engineer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2023

Cons

you have to be creative.

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

The diversity of tasks, interaction with all stakeholders, continuous learning process, communication. Allows great progression in many technical skills