undergradly.
Major · Engineering Tech

Programming the robots that build everything else

Automation Engineer Technology/Technician trains you to install, calibrate, and maintain the PLCs, SCADA systems, and industrial robots that run modern manufacturing lines. Across 74 colleges, 700 students completed this credential last year, with associate's degrees making up most of the pipeline. Median earnings five years out land near $76,343, with associate's-completers around $72,871 and bachelor's-completers around $86,003.

Schools offering
74
Annual completions
700
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$76k

About this major

Automation Engineer Technology/Technician trains you to apply engineering principles and hands-on technical skills to the systems that run modern manufacturing: programmable logic controllers, SCADA, industrial networks, robotics cells, and the sensors and actuators that connect them to the physical world. Coursework typically covers electronics and instrumentation, motors and drives, hydraulic and pneumatic control, ladder-logic and structured-text PLC programming, HMI design, robotics integration, and applied process control. Most programs run an Allen-Bradley/Rockwell stack, a Siemens stack, or both, with hands-on lab time on FANUC, ABB, or Universal Robots arms forming the core differentiator from a pure electrical-tech credential.

The major rewards a particular kind of mind: someone who likes systems that have to work in physical reality, who can read a wiring diagram and an electrical schematic and a P&ID without flinching, and who treats a stubborn intermittent fault as a puzzle worth chasing past quitting time. A baseline interest in how mechanical, electrical, and software pieces interact matters more than raw math ability — the calculus is light, the troubleshooting is heavy. Students often arrive from high-school robotics teams, military electronics ratings, or maintenance-tech backgrounds looking for a more programmable lane.

Nationally, the major is small and concentrated in the trade-credential tier. The packet shows 700 completions across 74 colleges, with the largest single producer being ECPI University at 144 completions (mostly bachelor's), followed by associate's-only programs at Vincennes University, South Central College, and Oklahoma State Institute of Technology. The closest career destinations — Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists/Technicians ($77,180 median) and Electro-mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists/Technicians ($70,760 median) — both project flat headline growth (0.6%–1.1%), but the underlying reshoring and CHIPS-Act capex wave has pushed real demand for plant-floor controls people well past those numbers in most regional markets.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians $77k +0.6% Associate's degree
Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians $71k +1.1% Associate's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$76k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$73k

Bachelor's

$86k

Who this major is for

This major fits if you would rather commission the equipment that builds things than design it from scratch, and if the prospect of debugging a stalled conveyor at 11 p.m. with a laptop and a ladder-logic editor sounds like satisfying work rather than a nightmare. It suits people who like the physical-software interface — touching motors, drives, sensors, and PLCs every day — and who are comfortable with second or third shift early in their careers when commissioning windows fall on plant downtime. The data points to two clean entry routes: a two-year associate's at a technical college like Vincennes, South Central, Hennepin Tech, or Fox Valley Tech, or a four-year bachelor's at a producer like ECPI or Louisiana Tech if you want to keep the door open to systems-integrator or transfer-up paths. If your target job is Automation Technician at the $77,180 median wage, the associate's plus a Rockwell or SMSCP certification is generally enough to get hired.

Reconsider this route if your goal is the title "Automation Engineer" or "Controls Engineer" with full system-design ownership — that path runs through an ABET-accredited four-year degree in Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering (CIP 14.4201) or Electrical Engineering, not this CIP. Pause as well if you dislike the physical environment of manufacturing — the work happens in production plants with noise, temperature swings, and PPE, not at a desk. The bachelor's-vs-associate's wage gap in this dataset is roughly $13,131, which is real but probably not enough to justify two extra years and the tuition unless you specifically want the transfer pathway to engineer-titled roles or are targeting larger integrators. Finally, the field is reshaping under industrial-IoT, edge computing, and AI-driven predictive maintenance, so a student who only wants to learn ladder logic on a 1990s PLC is aiming at the slowest-growing slice of the market — leaning into modern Logix, Profinet, OPC UA, and at least basic Python or SQL is what keeps your career ceiling open.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Automation Engineer Technology/Technician

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
ECPI University Virginia Beach, VA 23 121 144
Vincennes University Vincennes, IN 54 0 54
South Central College North Mankato, MN 39 0 39
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Okmulgee, OK 31 0 31
Louisiana Tech University Ruston, LA 0 29 29
Hennepin Technical College Brooklyn Park, MN 29 0 29
Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL 1 27 28
Alexandria Technical & Community College Alexandria, MN 21 0 21
Western Iowa Tech Community College Sioux City, IA 17 0 17
Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI 16 0 16
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician

3,682 completions/yr

Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General

2,524 completions/yr

Industrial Technology/Technician

1,933 completions/yr

Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician

1,104 completions/yr

Chemical Technology/Technician

1,095 completions/yr

Instrumentation Technology/Technician

1,036 completions/yr

Biomedical Technology/Technician

652 completions/yr

Architectural Technology/Technician

647 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Automation Engineer Technology majors actually do day-to-day?
You commission and troubleshoot the equipment that runs production lines: programmable logic controllers, variable-frequency drives, servo motors, conveyors, vision systems, and six-axis robots. That means writing and editing ladder logic in Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 or Siemens TIA Portal, tuning HMI screens in FactoryTalk or WinCC, integrating sensors over EtherNet/IP or Profinet, and chasing intermittent faults at 2 a.m. when a line goes down. The Bureau of Labor Statistics groups this work under Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists/Technicians ($77,180 median) and Electro-mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists/Technicians ($70,760 median), both of which list an associate's degree as the typical entry point.
Will this major make me an automation engineer?
Not on its own. The job title "Automation Engineer" or "Controls Engineer" usually requires a four-year ABET-accredited degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering (CIP 14.4201), or Computer Engineering. The CIP 15.0406 credential trains technicians and technologists, not engineers. The honest career ladder runs Automation Technician → Senior Controls Tech → Lead Integrator, with movement into engineer-titled roles typically gated on either a transfer-up bachelor's or a decade of plant-floor experience plus a strong Rockwell/Siemens portfolio. The bachelor's-completer wage premium in this dataset, roughly $13,131 over the associate's, reflects that ceiling.
Is the associate's enough, or should I go straight to a bachelor's?
Most employers in manufacturing automation hire on the associate's plus demonstrable PLC programming skills, especially if you can show Allen-Bradley Logix or Siemens S7 work in a portfolio and hold a credential like the Rockwell Automation Certified or SMSCP certification. The data backs this up: only a handful of colleges in the top-ten producers offer the bachelor's, and the associate's-only schools (Vincennes, South Central College, Hennepin Tech, Fox Valley) feed regional employers directly. The bachelor's makes sense if you want to keep transfer paths open into a Mechatronics or EE program later, or if you are targeting the larger systems-integrator firms that pay closer to the $86,003 cohort median. The shortest credential that gets you onto a plant floor with PLC time on your résumé is usually the right call.
What is the actual job market like right now?
Tailwinds are real. The CHIPS Act, EV-battery plants from Georgia to Michigan, and broad reshoring of manufacturing capacity have pushed demand for controls technicians well past the modest 0.6%–1.1% BLS growth projections for the underlying SOC codes. Job postings concentrate around food and beverage processing, automotive assembly, semiconductor fabs, pharmaceutical packaging, and warehouse automation for Amazon-style fulfillment. Geography matters: the Midwest manufacturing belt (Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota), the Southeast (Tennessee, Georgia, the Carolinas), and Texas all post heavily. Compensation skews higher than the BLS medians suggest in markets with active capex builds, with overtime and on-call premiums often adding 15–25% to base pay.
Where do graduates actually end up working?
The dataset shows training concentrated at technical institutes and community colleges — Vincennes University, South Central College, Oklahoma State Institute of Technology, Hennepin Technical College, Fox Valley Tech — plus a few four-year producers like Louisiana Tech and ECPI University. The hiring pattern follows: graduates land at OEMs (manufacturing plants of car makers, food processors, consumer-goods companies), at systems integrators that build automation cells for those OEMs (Rockwell channel partners, Siemens Solution Partners), and at machine builders. Junior titles include Automation Technician, Controls Technician, PLC Technician, Robotics Service Technician, and Maintenance Technician with controls focus. Many graduates rotate through second or third shift early, then move to day-shift commissioning or integrator roles.
How does this differ from Mechatronics Engineering or Electromechanical Tech?
They are close siblings with meaningfully different ceilings. Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering (CIP 14.4201) is the four-year ABET-track engineering degree that lets you carry the "Engineer" title and design new systems from a clean slate. Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology (CIP 15.0403) overlaps heavily with this CIP — both feed the Electro-mechanical Technician SOC — but tends to lean more toward motors, drives, and mechanical-electrical integration. Industrial Technology (CIP 15.0612) is broader and covers process and operations beyond pure controls. If your goal is plant-floor controls work and you want out of school in two years, this CIP is the right pick. If you want to design automation systems with an engineer title, transfer into 14.4201 after the associate's.