How much does a chip factory tech make?
a year · about $25 an hour
A typical chip factory tech in the United States makes $51,430 a year, about $25 an hour, about the same as a typical US worker (median, May 2025, US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
What do they do?
After putting on a bunny suit, you read work orders and load wafers into machines that clean, polish, or etch them. You monitor settings, inspect wafers for flaws—sometimes with a microscope—and record results.
Did you know? A semiconductor cleanroom can be 10,000 times cleaner than a hospital operating room—because one speck of dust could ruin a microprocessor.
Is that a lot?
Compared with jobs you knowIf 100 people had this job
Most earn between $37,690 and $82,540How do you become one?
In the US, earn a high school diploma and study math, science, and electronics; a community-college certificate or associate degree can also help. You can also enter through a registered apprenticeship, then learn cleanroom rules, equipment, and chip testing on the job.
School needed: High school plus some training
Good for people who like building and doing and keeping things organized
Why does pay differ?
In the US, experience and useful skills can raise pay, and employers in different industries or places may pay differently. Since chip factories run around the clock, night and weekend shifts may also affect extra pay.
Where does it pay most?
Highest in Arizona ($78,940), lowest in Texas ($38,440).
See every state
Top 5 and bottom 3 states, typical (median) yearly pay.
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Data table and sources
| Lower earner (10th from bottom) | Typical person (median) | Higher earner (10th from top) | People in this job |
|---|---|---|---|
| $37,690 | $51,430 | $82,540 | about 31,000 |
| State | Typical person (median) | People in this job |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $78,940 | about 2,000 |
| Oregon | $63,330 | about 7,000 |
| Washington | $58,710 | about 990 |
| Colorado | $52,360 | about 790 |
| Massachusetts | $51,410 | about 1,000 |
Official definition: Perform any or all of the following functions in the manufacture of electronic semiconductors: load semiconductor material into furnace; saw formed ingots into segments; load individual segment into crystal growing chamber and monitor controls; locate crystal axis in ingot using x-ray equipment and saw ingots into wafers; and clean, polish, and load wafers into series of special purpose furnaces, chemical baths, and equipment used to form circuitry and change conductive properties.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (bls.gov); descriptions and related jobs from O*NET 31.0. Figures as of May 2025, full-time yearly pay (hourly × 2,080 hours). bls.gov/oes · O*NET OnLine
Pages used for the text
- www.bls.gov/ooh/production/semiconductor-processing-technicians.htm
- www.onetonline.org/link/details/51-9141.00
- www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/wage-differences.htm
- prod8.semi.org/en/blogs/semi-news/chip-industry-fun-facts-super-cleanroom-microc
- apprenticeships.urban.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/Semiconductor_Processing_T
Data: US BLS OEWS, May 2025 · 1 USD = 150 JPY