Engineering technicians held 497,300 jobs in 2008. Approximately 33 percent were electrical and electronic engineering technicians, as indicated by the following tabulation.
| Electrical and electronic engineering technicians | 164,000 |
| Civil engineering technicians | 91,700 |
| Industrial engineering technicians | 72,600 |
| Mechanical engineering technicians | 46,100 |
| Environmental engineering technicians | 21,200 |
| Electro-mechanical technicians | 16,400 |
| Aerospace engineering and operations technicians | 8,700 |
| Engineering technicians, except drafters, all other | 76,600 |
About 34 percent of all engineering technicians worked in manufacturing. Another 25 percent worked in professional, scientific, and technical service industries, mostly in engineering or business services companies that do engineering work on contract for government, manufacturing firms, or other organizations.
In 2008, the Federal Government employed 35,300 engineering technicians. State governments employed 31,300, and local governments employed 25,100.
Source: Bureau of Labor
Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook
Handbook, 2010-11 Edition
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