Post job

Product engineering technician education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a product engineering technician. Product engineering technicians usually study electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering technology. 43% of product engineering technicians hold a bachelor's degree, and 38% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 502 real product engineering technician resumes to see exactly what product engineering technician education sections show.

The most common colleges for product engineering technicians are the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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

What education do you need to become a product engineering technician?

What degree do you need to be a product engineering technician?

The most common degree for product engineering technicians is bachelor's degree, with 43% of product engineering technicians earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 38% and associate degree degree at 9%.
  • Bachelor's, 43%
  • Associate, 38%
  • Master's, 9%
  • High School Diploma, 4%
  • Other Degrees, 6%

What should I major in to become a product engineering technician?

You should major in electrical engineering to become a product engineering technician. 32% of product engineering technicians major in electrical engineering. Other common majors for a product engineering technician include mechanical engineering and electrical engineering technology.

Most common colleges for product engineering technicians

Product engineering technicians often get their degrees at University of California, Santa Barbara, San Diego Mesa College, and University of Pennsylvania. Here are the most common colleges for product engineering technicians in the US based on their resumes.
Product engineering technician common collegePercentages
University of California, Santa Barbara8.16%
San Diego Mesa College8.16%
University of Pennsylvania6.12%
University of Wisconsin Colleges6.12%
DeVry University6.12%

Best majors for product engineering technicians

Best colleges for product engineering technicians

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

A product 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 product 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 product engineering technicians.

1. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Enrollment

33,495

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,465

Enrollment

6,483

7. Michigan Technological University

Houghton, MI • Private

In-state tuition

$15,646

Enrollment

5,736

8. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

9. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

10. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

20 best online courses for product engineering technicians

Advertising disclosure

1. Engineering and Product Design Processes

coursera

Welcome to “Engineering and Product Design Processes!” In this short course, you will learn how engineering design processes and product design processes are carried out. After the course, you will be familiar with the steps in both design processes. You will also be familiar with the main goal of each design process, as well as their similarities and differences...

2. Machine Learning Engineering for Production (MLOps)

coursera

Understanding machine learning and deep learning concepts is essential, but if you’re looking to build an effective AI career, you need production engineering capabilities as well.\n\nEffectively deploying machine learning models requires competencies more commonly found in technical fields such as software engineering and DevOps. Machine learning engineering for production combines the foundational concepts of machine learning with the functional expertise of modern software development and...

3. Product Development & Systems Engineering

udemy
4.6
(3,086)

The complete Product Development & Systems Engineering course! Earn 25 contact hours AND prepare to take the INCOSE Exam...

4. Mechanical design and Product development process

udemy
4.2
(604)

Learn the basic ideas and concepts behind developing mechanical products related to mechanical engineering...

5. Architecting with Google Kubernetes Engine: Production

coursera

In this course, "Architecting with Google Kubernetes Engine: Production," you'll learn about Kubernetes and Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) security; logging and monitoring; and using Google Cloud managed storage and database services from within GKE. This is the final course of the Architecting with Google Kubernetes Engine series. After completing this course, enroll in the Reliable Google Cloud Infrastructure: Design and Process course or the Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure Foundations with...

6. Strategic Product Development

coursera

This course discusses how companies create new products that customers want while achieving their financial objectives. Learners begin by defining the product strategies necessary to ensure a company’s long-term growth. Learners then explore the different product development processes used by high-tech businesses today, such as Stage-Gate and Lean/Agile techniques. Learners conclude by illustrating the tools to build the high-performance teams that take the development process from concept...

7. Technical Product Management: learn on 4 real industry cases

udemy
4.3
(930)

Boost your technicality (as a PM) or tech product skills (as an engineer) to grow in your current role...

8. Manufacturing Guide for Mechanical Product Development

udemy
4.9
(491)

Learn how everyday physical products are manufactured with no prior experience in engineering...

9. 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...

10. Insightful Customer Interviews for Product Managers

udemy
4.5
(340)

Direct conversations with real customers to gain insight, test product concepts, and drive product success...

11. Scrum Product Owner & Scrum Product Owner Certification

udemy
4.2
(2,012)

Introduction to Agile and Scrum Product Owner Role + Preparation to Product Owner Certification Tests + Mock Exam...

12. The Product Management for AI & Data Science Course

udemy
4.3
(5,007)

The Complete Course for Becoming a Successful Product Manager in the Field of AI & Data Science...

13. Introduction to Automotive Product Design & development

udemy
4.4
(648)

Learn about the process, milestones and activities from idea to complete design of cars for Automotive engineers...

14. Comprehensive Product management for Product managers

udemy
4.5
(366)

Become a great product manager with comprehensive product management Real world case study with JIRA & Confluence...

15. Automotive product design using CATIA V5

udemy
4.4
(624)

Automotive domain design using CATIA, interior and exterior trims on CATIA, Plastic product design in Automotive sector...

16. Music Production I - Learn to be a Music Producer!

udemy
4.2
(1,693)

Learn how to become a recording/music production engineer with little to no knowledge! Record music like a pro!...

17. Product Design Management for Agile Practitioners

udemy
4.5
(1,111)

Application of product design management principles, concepts, tools and techniques in agile product management...

18. Professional Diploma in Digital Products Management

udemy
4.3
(288)

Program with business cases (Fintech, Retail Banking, Digital Business) & Interactive part...

19. Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Practice Tests

udemy
4.3
(553)

Pass the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Exam...

20. Product and Service Management

udemy
4.7
(957)

Know the Work that is Involved in Getting a Product Onto the Shelf and a Service Ready for Effective Delivery...

Top 10 most affordable universities for product engineering technicians

The most affordable schools for product engineering technicians are California State University - Long Beach, suny farmingdale, and california state university - los angeles.

If the best universities for product 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 product engineering technicians.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

2. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

3. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,749

Cost of attendance

14,823

4. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

6. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez

Mayaguez, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$4,094

Cost of attendance

14,302

7. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Socorro, NM • Private

In-state tuition

$7,770

Cost of attendance

21,244

8. 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

9. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

10. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Cost of attendance

21,302

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for product engineering technicians

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

Some great schools for product 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 product 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. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

3. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

4. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

6. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

8. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

9. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

10. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

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

The easiest schools for product engineering technicians to get into are Texas A&M; University - Kingsville, the university of texas permian basin, and oregon institute of technology.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a product 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 product engineering technicians.

1. Texas A&M University - Kingsville

Kingsville, TX • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,035

2. The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,046

3. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

4. Kean University

Union, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

86%

SAT average

991

5. Pennsylvania State University - DuBois

DuBois, PA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,079

6. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

7. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

8. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

9. Indiana State University

Terre Haute, IN • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

1,019

10. California University of Pennsylvania

California, PA • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,007

Average product engineering technician salary by education level

Product engineering technicians with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $95,422 annually. With a Associate degree, product engineering technicians earn a median annual income of $92,713 compared to $91,610 for product engineering technicians with an Bachelor's degree.
Product engineering technician education levelProduct engineering technician salary
Master's Degree$95,422
High School Diploma or Less$88,374
Bachelor's Degree$91,610
Some College/ Associate Degree$92,713

Product engineering technician education FAQs

Search for product 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