Science and Engineering Technicians

For nearly two decades the employment situation for science and engineering technicians has remained fairly consistent. This may not be true in the future.

The same turbulence instilled by new technology and global labor markets that has challenged scientists and engineers now also confronts technicians. Further cutbacks in defense spending, advancing corporate downsizing and the privatization of government activities — when combined with a fairly low rate of unionization — point to increased difficulties for those employed in these occupations.

Employment and Working Conditions

Scientific and engineering technicians typically are divided into three broad categories: engineering technicians, drafters and surveyors, and science technicians. Engineering technicians were the largest of the three groups in 1998, with 771,000 employed, while drafters and science technicians trailed behind, at 283,000 and 227,000 respectively. Among engineering technicians, electrical and electronic engineering technicians and drafters were the largest occupations. Nuclear and mathematical technicians were the smallest.

The majority of engineering technicians are employed in private industry, with approximately 33% working in manufacturing industries, helping to produce electrical and electronic machinery and equipment, industrial machinery and equipment, instruments and related products, and transportation equipment. Another 25% work in the service industries, such as health, education, communications, etc. (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1998-99 Edition). Science technicians also are most likely to work in the private sector (the majority were clustered among chemical and food-processing industries).

Women comprised only 20.8% of the total engineering technician work force in 1998, but at 43.3% their representation was much higher in scientific occupations. They were particularly well-represented among biological technicians, where they outnumbered men in the field. African-American technicians also were well-represented in the chemical fields, comprising 14.9% of all chemical technicians.

Most engineering and science technicians work in a fairly comfortable environment and generally can limit their working hours to a standard forty-hour week. Some, however, must contend with night and weekend work and with specific, work-related hazards such as hazardous chemicals and other toxic materials. Drafters suffer ailments common to workers spending a lot of time at computers, such as eyestrain, back discomfort and hand and wrist problems resulting from repetitive stress. Science technicians may risk exposure to disease-causing organisms, toxic chemicals, radiation or radioactive isotopes, etc.

Earnings

Utilities estimators and drafters earned the highest annual salaries among engineering and science technicians, followed by nuclear technicians. Surveying and mapping technicians earned the lowest median annual wage: $25,937. Salaries typically differ not only by industry and by length of tenure on the job, but also are subject to a gender gap. In the case of engineering technicians, women earned 92.8% of their male counterparts’ salaries in 1999, while female science technicians earned 73.2% (Employment and Earnings, 2000). Interestingly, according to BLS data, the wage gap has widened over the years for science technicians but narrowed for engineering technicians.

Job Outlook and Trends in the Industry:

Employment among all science and engineering technicians is expected to remain relatively stable, growing by about 12.9% over the next few years. Engineering, electrical and electronics technology will grow by more than 16%, a much greater rate of growth than for science technicians and drafters (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1998-99 Edition). Demand for drafters will grow by only 6.4% because of displacement by computer-assisted drafting (CAD) programs. Advancing technology is expected to have an even bigger impact on the employment prospects of surveyors, as satellite imaging technology allows more surveying tasks to be completed by smaller staffs.

While employment prospects for science and engineering technicians are not entirely unfavorable, changing technology, globalization of the labor market, shifts in priorities for research and development funding all conspire to create greater insecurity. According to a survey by InTech magazine, one-third of the technician respondents felt their jobs were insecure (Strothman, 1995).

Increasing their concerns is the fact that technicians are required to possess more education and training than ever before. The educational expectations for science and engineering technicians were once modest, requiring no more than a high-school diploma or at best, a two-year training course in a science or engineering specialty. In recent years, however, new demands have led to calls for increased training and the creation of various certification programs.

Drafters, too, are facing increasing pressures to train and be certified. The American Design Drafting Association (ADDA) has established a program that certifies students for their knowledge and understanding of geometric construction, working drawings and architectural terms and standards. This certification process supplements the traditional two-year training program most drafters are required to complete.

Although these certification programs are not yet widespread, they are expected to become increasingly popular as employer preferences give graduates of these programs a leg up in the job market. Moreover, certification programs help mid-career technicians keep pace with rapidly advancing technology, an important consideration given that "the number and complexity of skills required of technicians are increasing at a dizzying rate" (Maleski, 1996).

In several cases, certification programs have been designed and conducted with the cooperation of unions that represent technicians. The American Chemical Society, for example, has implemented a program called "Voluntary Industry Standards for Chemical Process Technical Industry Workers" in conjunction with the Chemical Manufacturers Association, the American Petroleum Institute and the International Chemical Workers Council of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). The program seeks to identify the "knowledge, skills and abilities needed to succeed in the workplace" and to ensure that all technicians entering the industry are provided with the knowledge and skills necessary for successful employment (Ibid.).

As noted above, health and safety issues are a major concern in several technician occupations. Where they exist, unions of technicians are a primary force for reform of safety and health procedures in the industry. For example, a major ruling by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1996 reduced the allowable workplace exposure to butadiene. A new standard was developed by a coalition of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers, the United Steelworkers’ Rubber Workers Conference, the International Chemical Workers’ Union, and the Chemical Manufacturers Association (Hanson, 1996).

Unions of Technicians

The level of unionization among science and engineering technicians remains relatively low and is declining. According to the Bureau of National Affairs, union membership among engineering and science technicians in 1998 read as follows: 9.5% Science Technicians; 6.5% Chemical Technicians; 8.7% Biological Technicians; 6.8% Surveying and Map Technicians; 7.3% Drafting Occupations; 7.4% Other Engineering Technicians; and 13.8% Electrical & Electronic Technicians. While these figures should be interpreted with caution, due to the small number of cases sampled do indicate that there are obstacles to unionization among science and engineering technicians yet to be overcome.

Among technicians who are union members, the majority belong to the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW).

Because of the changes cited in the preceding paragraphs, technicians in the science and engineering fields face mounting pressures that can be responded to by union representation. As the pace of union organization increases in the technical professions, one can expect a similar trend to occur among science and engineering technicians, as well.

Sources Cited

Braddock, Douglas. "Occupational Employment Projections." U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 122, No. 11, November 1999, pp. 51-77.

Brennan, Mairin. "NSF awards $27 million to train technicians." Chemical & Engineering News, November 7, 1994, pp. 6-7.

Bureau of National Affairs. 1999. Union Membership and Earnings Data Book: Compilations from the Current Population Survey, Washington, DC.

Goodman, William C. "The Software and Engineering Industries: Threatened by Technological Change?" Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 119, No. 8, August 1996, pp. 37-45.

Hanson, David. "Industry, unions agree on OSHA, butadiene rule," Chemical & Engineering News, November 4, 1996, pp. 7-8.

Layman, Patricia. "Labor feels ‘left out’ of Responsible Care," Chemical & Engineering News, December 22, 1997, pp. 9-10.

Maleski, Robert J. "Chemical Technicians," Chemical & Engineering News, July 1, 1996.

Strothman, Jim. "Engineers’, technicians’ pay higher, but job opportunities declining." InTech, September 1995, pp. 46-47.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1999. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1998-99 Edition, Bulletin 2500, Washington, DC, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment & Earnings, Vol. 47, No. 1 January 2000.

Waller, Francis J. "Technicians make it happen." Chemical & Engineering News, December 15, 1997, p. 53.