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Alamo Colleges DistrictCareer Explorer

Manufacturing Engineers

Part of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, in the Engineering and Technology pathway.

Bright outlookJob zone 4: considerable preparationO*NET 17-2112.03

What the work is

Design, integrate, or improve manufacturing systems or related processes. May work with commercial or industrial designers to refine product designs to increase producibility and decrease costs.

On a typical day

  • Apply continuous improvement methods, such as lean manufacturing, to enhance manufacturing quality, reliability, or cost-effectiveness.
  • Design layout of equipment or workspaces to achieve maximum efficiency.
  • Communicate manufacturing capabilities, production schedules, or other information to facilitate production processes.
  • Design, install, or troubleshoot manufacturing equipment.
  • Estimate costs, production times, or staffing requirements for new designs.
  • Evaluate manufactured products according to specifications and quality standards.

What it pays

$99,110
Median pay per year, San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX metro
New workers start near $70,810
Experienced workers reach $151,590
  1. $71k10th
  2. $83k25th
  3. $99kMedian
  4. $125k75th
  5. $152k90th
Wage percentiles: 10th $70,810, 25th $82,870, Median $99,110, 75th $124,640, 90th $151,590

About 1,670 people do this job in the San Antonio area.

Job outlook

Alamo region (Bexar and 12 surrounding counties), Texas Workforce Commission projection 2024 to 2034. U.S. figures from the BLS for comparison.

+24.2%

employment change in the Alamo region, 1,608 to 1,997 jobs · U.S. +11%

143

openings a year in the Alamo region, from growth and people leaving · U.S. 25,200

1,608

employed in the Alamo region in 2024 · U.S. 351,100

Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree

Skills this career uses

The skills O*NET rates most important for the job, with how much of each the work needs on a 1 to 7 scale.

  1. Reading Comprehension4.8
  2. Mathematics4.5
  3. Complex Problem Solving4.3
  4. Monitoring4.6
  5. Judgment and Decision Making4.6
  6. Active Listening4.1
  7. Speaking4.1
  8. Operations Monitoring3.9

Education people in this job have

Share of workers by highest education, from O*NET surveys. It shows what others did, not what you must do.

  1. Some college4%
  2. Associate degree16%
  3. Bachelor's degree76%
  4. Doctoral or professional4%

Job zone 4, considerable preparation: Usually a bachelor's degree, sometimes a strong associate plus experience.

Alamo programs that lead here

No Alamo program is mapped to this career yet. Many careers start from a transfer pre-major or a related program.

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Does this fit you?

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    Zone 4 Bright outlook

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  2. Industrial Production Managers

    Zone 414 Alamo programs

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  3. Chemical Engineers

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  4. Mechatronics Engineers

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  5. Mechanical Engineers

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  6. Materials Engineers

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  7. Automotive Engineers

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  8. $131kSan Antonio median