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Major · Engineering Technology

Hands-on robotics, PLCs, and the controls stack of modern factories

Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering Technology/Technician (CIP 15.0407) trains you to support engineers in the design, integration, and maintenance of computer-controlled electromechanical systems — robots, PLC-driven cells, and vision-guided automation. About 285 students complete this credential annually across 50 colleges, with associate’s grads earning around $72,871 and bachelor’s grads around $86,003 five years out.

Schools offering
50
Annual completions
285
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$76k

About this major

Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering Technology/Technician (CIP 15.0407) trains you to apply engineering principles and technical skills in support of engineers designing and operating autonomous, computer-controlled electromechanical systems. The CIP definition names the curricular pillars: computer and software engineering, control engineering, electronic and electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and robotics. In practice that means programmable logic controllers (Allen-Bradley Studio 5000, Siemens TIA Portal), industrial robots (FANUC, KUKA, ABB, Yaskawa, Universal Robots), vision systems (Cognex, Keyence), HMI design, SCADA, pneumatics, and industrial networking over EtherNet/IP and Profinet. Lab time runs continuously, with most programs anchoring on Rockwell or Siemens stacks plus a robot-cell capstone.

The major fits students who would rather commission and integrate the equipment that builds things than design it from a blank page. Mechanical aptitude paired with comfort in electrical troubleshooting matters, plus patience for the multi-day commissioning windows industrial automation actually involves. Many students arrive from high-school robotics teams, military electronics ratings (Navy ET, Army 94M, Air Force 2A6X3), or maintenance-tech backgrounds looking for a more programmable lane.

The packet shows 285 completions across 50 colleges, with the heaviest associate’s pipelines at Sinclair Community College (27), Waukesha County Technical College (19), Forsyth Tech (16), and Washtenaw (15). The bachelor’s side anchors at SUNY College of Technology at Delhi (19) and Pennsylvania College of Technology. That national footprint is small partly because many universities roll mechatronics students into broader electrical or general engineering-technology categories rather than 15.0407. The packet maps the major to Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians at $70,760 median and 1.1% projected growth — below the demand the CHIPS Act, EV-battery capex, and reshoring waves are generating for plant-floor controls talent.

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
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 and integrate equipment than design it from a clean slate, and if debugging a stalled conveyor at 11 p.m. with a laptop and a ladder-logic editor sounds like satisfying work. The data shows two entry routes: a two-year associate’s at Sinclair, Waukesha County, Forsyth Tech, or Washtenaw, or a four-year applied bachelor’s at SUNY Delhi or Pennsylvania College of Technology. The associate’s plus a Rockwell or SMSCP certification generally lands near the $72,871 cohort median; the bachelor’s opens the $86,003 cohort that runs closer to controls-engineer-adjacent work.

Reconsider this route if your goal is the Mechatronics or Robotics Engineer title with full design ownership and FE/PE licensure on a clean track — that path runs through CIP 14.4201 (the ABET-EAC four-year degree, bachelor’s median around $102,884), not this CIP. Pause as well if you dislike the physical environment of manufacturing, since the work happens in plants with noise and PPE rather than at a desk. Sibling CIPs share this employer pool — Electromechanical Tech (15.0403, 1,104), Automation Engineer Tech (15.0406, 700), Robotics Tech (15.0405, 218) — so verify which CIP your target firms recruit from. Leaning into modern Logix, Profinet, OPC UA, and baseline Python or SQL keeps your ceiling open as industrial-IoT and AI-driven predictive maintenance reshape the field.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering Technology/Technician

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

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH 27 0 27
Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI 19 0 19
SUNY College of Technology at Delhi Delhi, NY 0 19 19
Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem, NC 16 0 16
Washtenaw Community College Ann Arbor, MI 15 0 15
Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA 13 0 13
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College Green Bay, WI 13 0 13
Quinsigamond Community College Worcester, MA 12 0 12
Macomb Community College Warren, MI 11 0 11
St Clair County Community College Port Huron, MI 11 0 11
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Engineering Technology/Technician

3,682 completions/yr

Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology/Technician

1,104 completions/yr

Instrumentation Technology/Technician

1,036 completions/yr

Automation Engineer Technology/Technician

700 completions/yr

Biomedical Technology/Technician

652 completions/yr

Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering

612 completions/yr

Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians, Other

550 completions/yr

Robotics Technology/Technician

218 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering Technology majors actually study day-to-day?
Coursework stacks electrical fundamentals, mechanical fundamentals, and applied controls into a single integrated track. You spend lab time programming Allen-Bradley Logix and Siemens TIA Portal PLCs, wiring sensors and servo drives, building HMI screens, integrating vision systems from Cognex or Keyence, and running FANUC, KUKA, ABB, Yaskawa, or Universal Robots arms in cells. Pneumatics and hydraulics, industrial networking over EtherNet/IP and Profinet, robotics integration, and prototype testing fill out the lab side. The CIP definition explicitly covers computer and software engineering, control engineering, electronic and electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and robotics — applied in support of engineers rather than at design-from-scratch level.
How is this different from Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering (CIP 14.4201)?
This is the distinction that matters most, because the names are nearly identical and the credentials sit at different levels. CIP 15.0407 is the engineering-technology track, typically ABET-ETAC accredited and skewed toward associate’s and applied bachelor’s degrees that train technicians and technologists to install, commission, and maintain existing automation. CIP 14.4201 is the four-year ABET-EAC engineering bachelor’s that qualifies graduates to sit for the FE exam, work toward the PE license, carry the engineer title, and own system design. The bachelor’s-completer five-year median in this CIP is about $86,003 versus roughly $102,884 in 14.4201, and the gap widens at senior levels because engineer-titled roles open into engineering management while technologist roles cap closer to lead-integrator pay.
Is the associate’s enough, or should I plan on a bachelor’s?
Most entry-level controls and mechatronics technician hiring runs on the associate’s plus demonstrable PLC and robotics work, especially if you can show Allen-Bradley Logix or Siemens S7 projects in a portfolio. The packet supports this: of the 50 producers, the heaviest associate’s pipelines run at Sinclair Community College, Waukesha County Technical College, Forsyth Tech, Washtenaw, and Macomb, with the bachelor’s side anchored at SUNY Delhi, Pennsylvania College of Technology, and a handful of four-year applied programs. Associate’s completers post a five-year median around $72,871; bachelor’s completers run about $86,003 — a meaningful gap that mostly reflects controls-engineer-adjacent roles opening at the four-year tier. The bachelor’s makes sense if you want the controls-engineer transfer-up runway or a cleaner shot at FE eligibility in states that accept ETAC graduates.
What kinds of jobs do graduates actually land?
The packet maps this CIP to Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians ($70,760 median, 1.1% growth, associate’s entry). Realistic destinations include automation technician at OEM manufacturing plants, robotics integrator at systems-integrator firms, vision-systems specialist, controls technician on automated production lines, field service engineer for industrial-equipment manufacturers, and PLC programming and commissioning roles. Hiring concentrates at OEMs (auto, food and beverage, semiconductor, pharma, medical device, EV battery), at Rockwell channel partners and Siemens Solution Partners that build automation cells for those OEMs, at warehouse-automation employers like Amazon Robotics and Symbotic, and at machine builders. Junior titles include Automation Technician, Controls Technician, PLC Technician, Robot Programmer, and Mechatronics Technician.
Is the job market actually strong, or is the headline growth flat?
The named SOC reads only 1.1% growth, but the on-the-ground market sits well past that because of structural tailwinds the BLS projection underweights. The CHIPS Act is funding a wave of US semiconductor fabs in Arizona, Texas, Ohio, and New York, every one of which is a giant motion-control and robotics integration problem. Roughly $100 billion in announced US EV and battery plant capex from Georgia to Michigan to Tennessee, broad reshoring of manufacturing capacity, and warehouse-automation expansion (Amazon alone deploys hundreds of thousands of mobile robots) collectively pull demand for plant-floor controls and mechatronics talent above the headline number. Aging-workforce replacement at incumbent OEMs adds another layer. Compensation in markets with active capex builds skews higher than the BLS median, and overtime plus on-call premiums often add 15–25% to base pay during commissioning seasons.
How does this stack up against Electromechanical Tech (15.0403) or Robotics Tech (15.0405)?
These are close siblings with overlapping career destinations and meaningfully different scale. Electromechanical/Electromechanical Engineering Technology (CIP 15.0403, 1,104 completions) overlaps heavily with this CIP and feeds the same Electro-mechanical Technician SOC, but tilts a bit further toward motors, drives, and mechanical-electrical integration. Robotics Technology/Technician (CIP 15.0405, 218 completions) is the narrower robotics-specific cousin. Automation Engineer Technology/Technician (CIP 15.0406, 700 completions) is the closest sibling on the controls-and-PLC side and feeds the same employer pool. Electrical Engineering Technology (CIP 15.0303, 3,682 completions) is a much larger sibling that leans electrical-and-electronics-only. Pick 15.0407 if a program’s lab inventory specifically covers PLCs, robotics integration, and vision systems together — the integrated mechatronics signal is what differentiates this credential at hiring.