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Metallurgy

Types of Degrees Metallurgy Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Metallurgy can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	14
Associate’s Degree	27

What Metallurgy Majors Need to Know

Programs in Metallurgy build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Metallurgy graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Metallurgy emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Engineering and Technology — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Physics — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Metallurgy program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Quality Control Analysis — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Operations Monitoring — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.1 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Metallurgy careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Near Vision — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Metallurgy graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.3 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.2 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Processing Information	4.0 / 7
Controlling Machines and Processes	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Metallurgy professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Autodesk AutoCAD	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
National Instruments LabVIEW	Development environment software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Facebook	Web page creation and editing software	—
Computer aided design CAD software	Computer aided design CAD software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Statistical analysis software	Analytical or scientific software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Metallurgy graduates include:

• Test Technician (Test Tech)
• Laser Specialist
• Strain Technician (Strain Tech)
• Thin Film Technician (Thin Film Tech)
• Photonics Laboratory Technician (Photonics Lab Tech)
• Photonics Technician (Photonics Tech)
• Optoelectronic Technician (Optoelectronic Tech)
• Optical Engineering Technician (Optical Engineering Tech)
• Fiber Technician (Fiber Tech)
• Laser Scanners Technician (Laser Scanners Tech)
• Fiber Optics Assembler
• Fiber Optics Design Technician (Fiber Optics Design Tech)
• Laser Assembly Technician (Laser Assembly Tech)
• Optics Technician (Optics Tech)
• Certified Laser Technician (Certified Laser Tech)

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Metallurgy graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	47.2%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	25.4%
Bachelor’s degree	9.2%
Postsecondary certificate	6.9%
Some college courses	6.8%
Master’s degree	2.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Metallurgy?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 80.5% of Metallurgy degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	8	19.5%
Men	33	80.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Metallurgy graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	23	56.1%
Hispanic or Latino	8	19.5%
Black or African American	6	14.6%
Two or More Races	1	2.4%
Race Unknown	1	2.4%
International Students	2	4.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Metallurgy Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Metallurgy graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$59,570
4 years	$66,536
5 years	$74,003

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $74,003 — roughly 24% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Metallurgy Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Metallurgy graduates earn a median of $66,536 four years after completion — roughly 75% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians	11,391
Manufacturing Engineering Technology/Technician	4,498
Industrial Technology/Technician	3,881
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians, Other	1,904
Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians	1,557
Biomedical Technology/Technician	1,460
Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician	1,272
Computer Engineering Technology/Technician	1,215
Welding Engineering Technology/Technician	609
Computer Engineering Technologies/Technicians, Other	492
Computer Software Technology/Technician	278
Plastics and Polymer Engineering Technology/Technician	271

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.