# Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians

US SOC code 17-3026. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/17-3026

Also called: Industrial engineering technician, IE technician, IE tech, Industrial engineering technologist, Process improvement technician.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **75,570** US industrial engineering technologists and technicians, with median pay of **$66,120** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [a Census count](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ1940.shtml) of **28,000** from 1940, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: ERP-integrated process intelligence and simulation, 2010 to 2022.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 3.1% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-3026&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **37.5%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1883
- Latest US employment: 75,570 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $66,120 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [9]
- Outlook: +3.1% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [25]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 22302)
  - Employment, 2020: 16,900. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 22302 Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$67,500. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [12]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 22302 Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 26 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1940 | 28,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1940 [1] |
| 1960 | 72,000 | $5,800 (estimate) | Decennial Census 1950 (employment) [2]; Est., University of Missouri Libraries (pay) [8] |
| 1990 | 97,000 | n/a | BLS CPS 2020 [3] |
| 2003 | 64,260 | $41,860 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [4] |
| 2004 | 68,210 | $43,590 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [4] |
| 2005 | 73,310 | $45,280 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [4] |
| 2006 | 73,640 | $46,810 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [4] |
| 2007 | 74,930 | $47,490 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [4] |
| 2008 | 72,820 | $47,180 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [4] |
| 2009 | 65,460 | $46,760 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [4] |
| 2010 | 61,630 | $48,210 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2011 | 63,030 | $49,090 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [4] |
| 2012 | 67,400 | $50,980 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [4] |
| 2013 | 68,520 | $52,020 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [4] |
| 2014 | 65,680 | $53,370 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [4] |
| 2015 | 62,290 | $53,780 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [4] |
| 2016 | 63,220 | $53,330 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [4] |
| 2017 | 65,020 | $54,280 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [4] |
| 2018 | 66,540 | $55,460 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [4] |
| 2019 | 67,110 | $56,550 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 62,980 | $57,320 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 62,030 | $60,220 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 66,560 | $61,210 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 73,020 | $62,610 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [4] |
| 2024 | 73,410 | $64,790 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 75,570 | $66,120 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (86)

### Employment series

1. [IPUMS USA — 1940 Census occupation and industry codes documentation (technical assistants in manufacturing)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ1940.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
2. [US Census Bureau — Changes Between the 1950 and 1960 Occupation and Industry Classifications (technical documentation)](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1968/demo/tp-18.html), US Census Bureau
3. [BLS — "Forty years of falling manufacturing employment" (Beyond the Numbers, 2020)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-9/forty-years-of-falling-manufacturing-employment.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
5. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

8. [University of Missouri Libraries — Prices and Wages by Decade: 1960-1969 (BLS manufacturing technician wage references)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1960-1969), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
9. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
10. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
11. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

13. [Stevens Institute of Technology — "Frederick Winslow Taylor's Scientific Management Principles Birthed Modern-Day Industrial Engineering"](https://www.stevens.edu/news/frederick-winslow-taylor-scientific-management), Stevens Institute of Technology
14. [Wikipedia — Frank Bunker Gilbreth (motion study, therbligs, micromotion photography)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Bunker_Gilbreth), Wikipedia
15. [Wikipedia — Methods-time measurement (history, Maynard, Schwab, Stegemerten, Westinghouse, 1948)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods-time_measurement), Wikipedia
16. [Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers — Origins of IISE (American Institute of Industrial Engineers, founded 1948)](https://www.iise.org/details.aspx?id=295), Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers
17. [Wikipedia — AutoCAD (1982 launch, adoption in engineering and design)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoCAD), Wikipedia
18. [Wikipedia — Minitab (statistical process control software, developed at Penn State, released 1972)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitab), Wikipedia
19. [Wikipedia — Lean Six Sigma (history: Toyota Production System, GE, Allied Signal, Six Sigma adoption 1990s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_Six_Sigma), Wikipedia
20. [BLS — "Forty years of falling manufacturing employment" (Beyond the Numbers, 2020)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-9/forty-years-of-falling-manufacturing-employment.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
21. [Rockwell Automation — Arena Simulation Software (product overview)](https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/products/software/arena-simulation.html), Rockwell Automation
22. [Minitab — Statistical Process Control Software (SPC product overview)](https://www.minitab.com/en-us/solutions/analytics/statistical-process-control/), Minitab LLC
23. [Retrocausal — How AI Is Shaping the Future of Lean Manufacturing (2025)](https://retrocausal.ai/blog/how-ai-is-shaping-the-future-of-lean-manufacturing/), Retrocausal
24. [Rockwell Automation — FactoryTalk Analytics VisionAI press release (November 2024)](https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/company/news/press-releases/factorytalk-vision-ai.html), Rockwell Automation

### Forecasts and exposure studies

25. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 17-3026 Industrial engineering technologists and technicians (2025: 76.7 thousand; 2035: 79.0 thousand; +3.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-3026&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
26. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 17-3026.00, human-rated β 0.375)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

27. [Britannica — Frederick W. Taylor biography (time study at Midvale Steel, 1883)](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-W-Taylor), Encyclopaedia Britannica
28. [QAD — "Who Was Frederick Winslow Taylor? Father of Scientific Management" (2018)](https://www.qad.com/blog/2018/04/frederick-winslow-taylor-scientific-management), QAD Inc.
29. [Cornell University Library — Guide to the Gilbreth, Frank B. Motion Study Photographs, 1913-1917](https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/KCL06126p.html), Cornell University, Kheel Center
30. [Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers — Origins of IISE (AIIE founded 1948)](https://www.iise.org/details.aspx?id=295), Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers
31. [Wikipedia — NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., 1984 joint venture)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NUMMI), Wikipedia
32. [Wikipedia — Six Sigma (history: Motorola, Allied Signal, GE, Jack Welch 1995)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma), Wikipedia

### Predecessors & successors

33. [Stevens Institute of Technology — "Frederick Winslow Taylor's Scientific Management Principles"](https://www.stevens.edu/news/frederick-winslow-taylor-scientific-management), Stevens Institute of Technology

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians (17-3026.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-3026.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/industrial-engineering-technicians.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Goldman Sachs — The Potentially Large Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growth (2023)](https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2023/03/27/d64e052b-0f6e-45d7-967b-d7be35fabd16.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Retrocausal — How AI Is Shaping the Future of Lean Manufacturing (2025)](https://retrocausal.ai/blog/how-ai-is-shaping-the-future-of-lean-manufacturing/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Research.com — AI, Automation, and the Future of Industrial Engineering Careers (2026)](https://research.com/advice/ai-automation-and-the-future-of-industrial-engineering-degree-careers), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Retrocausal — Manufacturing Time Study with AI: Automate and Analyze (2025)](https://retrocausal.ai/blog/manufacturing-time-study-ai/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Rockwell Automation — FactoryTalk Analytics VisionAI press release (November 2024)](https://www.rockwellautomation.com/en-us/company/news/press-releases/factorytalk-vision-ai.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Automation World — Rockwell Automation AI Vision Tech for Closed-Loop Quality Control](https://www.automationworld.com/analytics/article/55251927/rockwell-automations-ai-vision-tech-for-closed-loop-quality-control), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.