Production
Semiconductor Processing Technicians
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.
Also called: Device Processing Engineer, Diffusion Operator, Manufacture Specialist, Manufacturing Technician (Manufacturing Tech), Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition Engineer (MOCVD Engineer), Probe Operator
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $59,110
- $28.42/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 560
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +1.9%
- 140 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- High school diploma or equivalent
- plus Moderate-term on-the-job training
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $48,100 | $48,690 | $59,110 | $60,950 | $74,890 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Inspect materials, components, or products for surface defects and measure circuitry, using electronic test equipment, precision measuring instruments, microscope, and standard procedures.
- Study work orders, instructions, formulas, and processing charts to determine specifications and sequence of operations.
- Clean semiconductor wafers using cleaning equipment, such as chemical baths, automatic wafer cleaners, or blow-off wands.
- Maintain processing, production, and inspection information and reports.
- Place semiconductor wafers in processing containers or equipment holders, using vacuum wand or tweezers.
- Load and unload equipment chambers and transport finished product to storage or to area for further processing.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Lower exposure23 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 28
- Language-model AIOE 27
- GPTs-are-GPTs 15
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for this job is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools may help with reading work orders and processing charts and with keeping production and inspection reports. Cleaning wafers, loading them with tweezers or vacuum wands, and handling equipment still rely on trained people in the room.
Likely to change
- Keeping production and inspection reports
- Reading work orders and processing charts
Still relies on people
- Loading and cleaning wafers by hand
- Running and checking equipment on site
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Next steps from here
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Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
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Talk to a career coach
A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.
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