1. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,992
Enrollment
33,495
If you're the kind of person who's always up for a challenge, likes practical and hands-on work within a team, and enjoys making a daily impact on company performance, a career as a process technician might be a perfect fit for you. As a process technician, your core duty is to monitor and improve the various manufacturing processes. In this role, you may wear several hats as you analyze operations, develop and adjust machine parameters, test batch quality, evaluate quality requirements, and, in fact, do everything necessary to ensure efficient, ongoing production.
As a process technician, you may work in a wide variety of industries. From water treatment to power generation plants, you could work anywhere that has manufacturing processes. Typically, you will work alongside engineers to recommend and implement structure methods that help reduce production costs. You may spend most of your time on the factory floor administering and analyzing the manufacturing processes. Usually you will work for 40 hours a week. However, you may need to work in shifts in order to report machine faults or breakdown.
A profession as a process technician is a long-term career that can bring you the excellent benefits of a good salary, job advancement opportunities, and a chance to work with your hands using cutting-edge technology in manufacturing. Not only that, but it's a role with minimum education requirements. You may become a process technician with a high school diploma or a vocational certificate. However, earning an associate's degree in process technology or a related field may help elevate your career. To be successful, you must demonstrate excellent analytical and observational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to troubleshoot processes and instrumentation. With advanced experience and technical skills, you may even take on the role of an industrial engineer or engineering manager.
There are certain skills that many process technicians have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and detail oriented.
If you're interested in becoming a process technician, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 35.9% of process technicians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.8% of process technicians have master's degrees. Even though some process technicians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a process technician can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as technician, progress to a title such as team leader and then eventually end up with the title plant manager.
What Am I Worth?
The role of a process technician includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general process technician responsibilities:
There are several types of process technician, including:
To be a technician, you have to know your stuff. Some may refer to you as an expert in your field or maybe people will know you as skilled in an art or craft. Then again, you may just be needed to look after technical equipment.
Your workload as a technician will vary, depending on what you're trained in. You may be needed to set up a new computer system or maybe you'll need to fix an electricity problem. Either way, you'll probably only need to work 40 hours a week.
The degree of education required for this job depends on what you're specific skillset is. Some technicians only need a high school diploma, others may want to complete an associate's program or earn a certificate to help their employment opportunities. There's definitely something for everyone in the field of technicians.
Equipment, construction and design all have one thing in common. They all need to be inspected and tested by engineering technicians. Once you've done that, then it's time to type up a report of what you analyzed.
Occassionally, you'll be able to help draw up blueprints and plans for products and equipment. If you like coloring inside the lines, this job may be perfect for you. While you won't be coloring inside any lines (probably), you will get to draw very straight lines which can be aesthetically pleasing.
Engineering technicians can usually get by with just a bachelor's degree. That's enough to appease the average employer.
Have you ever wondered what is the official job role for those people in charge of work, like assembling parts in a factory? Well, I certainly have. I never used to think too much and assumed those people magically appeared as part of the factory. But they are actually called production operators and you can apply for this role, too, with little experience. This role is fun and exposes you to the way different things connect together, but it requires physical stamina and high concentration levels.
Daily, a production operator is involved in activities such as undertaking product assembly, performing product packaging, maintaining the production line machinery, and achieving production line targets. Besides that, they also need to clean the production floor and comply with health and safety guidelines.
Employers require production operators to have a minimum of a high school diploma and have the stamina to stand on their feet during work operations. This role earns, on average, $14 per hour and suits individuals passionate about understanding assembly lines.
Mouse over a state to see the number of active process technician jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where process technicians earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
---|---|---|---|
1 | California | 3,639 | $46,171 |
2 | Texas | 1,919 | $43,286 |
3 | Florida | 1,870 | $36,821 |
4 | Massachusetts | 1,564 | $45,014 |
5 | Illinois | 1,463 | $45,377 |
6 | North Carolina | 1,380 | $37,238 |
7 | New York | 1,373 | $40,522 |
8 | Georgia | 1,240 | $41,697 |
9 | Pennsylvania | 1,207 | $40,294 |
10 | Ohio | 1,131 | $35,330 |
11 | Indiana | 1,070 | $35,717 |
12 | Virginia | 1,058 | $35,670 |
13 | Michigan | 1,048 | $40,092 |
14 | Minnesota | 998 | $39,355 |
15 | Wisconsin | 894 | $34,978 |
16 | New Jersey | 877 | $45,729 |
17 | Maryland | 801 | $42,513 |
18 | Arizona | 772 | $46,098 |
19 | Missouri | 752 | $39,485 |
20 | Colorado | 747 | $40,032 |
21 | Washington | 660 | $43,631 |
22 | Tennessee | 616 | $36,048 |
23 | Iowa | 602 | $39,123 |
24 | Kentucky | 563 | $38,005 |
25 | South Carolina | 529 | $44,807 |
26 | Utah | 517 | $35,544 |
27 | Alabama | 509 | $39,046 |
28 | Oregon | 470 | $39,857 |
29 | Connecticut | 432 | $48,117 |
30 | Kansas | 382 | $39,846 |
31 | New Hampshire | 281 | $42,627 |
32 | Maine | 273 | $41,668 |
33 | Arkansas | 259 | $40,676 |
34 | Louisiana | 255 | $37,887 |
35 | Mississippi | 241 | $39,122 |
36 | Oklahoma | 232 | $38,586 |
37 | Nebraska | 228 | $37,007 |
38 | Nevada | 214 | $39,958 |
39 | Idaho | 192 | $36,510 |
40 | Delaware | 190 | $37,162 |
41 | West Virginia | 178 | $37,270 |
42 | New Mexico | 162 | $45,548 |
43 | Rhode Island | 132 | $50,761 |
44 | Vermont | 109 | $39,599 |
45 | Alaska | 101 | $39,725 |
46 | Montana | 100 | $38,401 |
47 | North Dakota | 90 | $36,034 |
48 | South Dakota | 78 | $31,152 |
49 | Hawaii | 69 | $49,763 |
50 | Wyoming | 53 | $40,104 |
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,992
Enrollment
33,495
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,798
Enrollment
31,503
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
Bowling Green, OH • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,105
Enrollment
13,729
Menomonie, WI • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,457
Enrollment
7,445
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
San Marcos, TX • Private
In-State Tuition
$10,280
Enrollment
34,187
San Jose, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,796
Enrollment
27,125
Cullowhee, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$3,926
Enrollment
9,835
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 13.3% of process technicians listed basic math on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Process Technician templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Process Technician resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
1. Process Improvement
In this course you will focus on process improvement. You will learn how to set organizational priorities for continuous process improvement, how to execute process improvement projects, and how to sustain the initiative for continuous improvements. You will be able to: • Relate underlying principles to frameworks and techniques used for process improvement • Synthesize information to make decisions for organizational initiatives and process improvement • Apply analytical techniques for...
2. Data-Driven Process Improvement
By the end of this course, learners are empowered to implement data-driven process improvement objectives at their organization. The course covers: the business case for IoT (Internet of Things), the strategic importance of aligning operations and performance goals, best practices for collecting data, and facilitating a process mapping activity to visualize and analyze a process’s flow of materials and information. Learners are prepared to focus efforts around business needs, evaluate what the...
3. Leadership, Business Process Improvement, & Process Mapping!
Learn the leadership, communication, and process mapping skills to accelerate your career!...
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a process technician. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, Hawaii, Connecticut, and California. Process technicians make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $50,761. Whereas in Hawaii and Connecticut, they would average $49,763 and $48,117, respectively. While process technicians would only make an average of $46,171 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Arizona
$46,098
Avg. Salary
2. Connecticut
$48,117
Avg. Salary
3. Rhode Island
$50,761
Avg. Salary
Salary, benefits, and the ability to move up.
It is hard to get a job at a refinery
Active handling machine and repair
Data collection and send report sit one place not do nothing at all Boring work
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Merck | $59,852 | $28.77 | 68 |
2 | Ball | $54,254 | $26.08 | 77 |
3 | Motorola Solutions | $48,206 | $23.18 | 94 |
4 | ARUP Laboratories | $47,883 | $23.02 | 61 |
5 | Intel | $46,991 | $22.59 | 89 |
6 | Corning Incorporated | $45,883 | $22.06 | 71 |
7 | Plastipak | $43,475 | $20.90 | 165 |
8 | Nationwide | $42,348 | $20.36 | 57 |
9 | Cree | $41,156 | $19.79 | 75 |
10 | Cargill | $41,151 | $19.78 | 243 |
No, you do not need a degree to be a process technician. However, many process technicians require completing an associate's degree or technical certificate.
In fact, 58% of process technicians have either a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree. The remaining process technicians have either a vocational or technical certification or several years of job experience.
It takes between 1 to 2 years to become a process technician. The time it takes is dependent on the program itself and whether you earn an associate's degree or vocational certification. In some cases, prospective process technicians may opt to earn a four-year bachelor's degree.
A process control technician makes $46,000 a year, on average ($22.53 an hour). The range in how much a process control technician can make - starts from as little as $36,000 to as much as $59,000 a year. Factors such as location and industry impact how much a process control technician can make.
No, a process technician is not an engineer. While a process technician can work closely with engineers, their training and roles are different.
For instance, process technicians assist engineers, whereas engineers oversee employees and manage projects. Process technicians are the ones who draft rough layouts of projects, whereas engineers are responsible for developing the projects from conception to completion.
The responsibilities of a process technician are to monitor and improve manufacturing processes. While their specific duties vary depending on the industry, they are generally responsible for monitoring and adjusting machine parameters, testing batch quality, and reporting equipment malfunctions.
The qualifications needed to become a technician are, at minimum, a high school diploma or equivalent and certification. Additional education and experience may be required and are typically desirable.
An associate's degree is most commonly recommended when hiring a process technician. Although some process technicians earn a four-year degree, it takes anywhere from 1 to 2 years to become a process technician.