Robotics workforce
Electro-mechanical technician pay and jobs: the BLS numbers
There is no BLS occupation called 'robotics technician.' The closest official match is electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians, who install, test, and maintain automated and robotic equipment.
For that occupation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a May 2025 median wage of $73,900 and about 15,700 jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 3 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
So if you see a 'robotics technician salary' pinned to a BLS number, it is almost certainly this occupation, relabeled. This page gives the real figures and the caveat that goes with them.
Data covers BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, wages May 2025 and projections 2025 to 2035. Published 2026-07-22. Last reviewed 2026-10-06. Last updated 2026-10-06. Edited by Mike Ramsey / Reliable Media.
The figures and where they come from
Each figure is rated for how safely you can cite it today. Ratings judge current usability, not whether a number was ever correct.
| Figure | What it is | Source | Citation Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $73,900 | Median annual pay (May 2025) | [A] | High | The May 2025 median wage for electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians, or $35.53 an hour. Half earned more, half less. |
| about 15,700 | Jobs held (2025) | [A] | High | Total employment in the occupation in 2025. A small occupation, which is part of why 'robotics technician' data is thin. |
| 3 percent | Projected growth (2025-2035) | [A] | Medium | Projected employment change over the decade, about as fast as the average for all occupations. |
| $47,840 | Lowest 10% earned less than | [A] | High | The bottom decile of the wage distribution in May 2025. Useful for showing the entry-level end. |
| $109,890 | Highest 10% earned more than | [A] | High | The top decile in May 2025. The spread from $47,840 to $109,890 is the honest range behind the single median. |
| +400 jobs | Projected employment change (2025-2035) | [A] | Medium | The 3 percent growth in absolute terms, about 400 jobs over the decade. |
| about 1,400 | Openings projected each year | [A] | Medium | Far more than the net growth, because most openings come from replacing workers who leave the occupation. |
Why the numbers disagree
The biggest gap is the job title. People search 'robotics technician' or 'robotics engineer,' but BLS files this work under electro-mechanical and mechatronics technicians. Different label, same people, different-looking numbers.
Median versus range. The $73,900 median hides a wide spread, from under $47,840 at the bottom decile to over $109,890 at the top. A single figure can look low or high depending on which end a writer emphasizes.
Occupation boundaries. Some robotics work sits in adjacent occupations like industrial machinery mechanics or electrical engineers, which carry their own, higher counts and wages, so totals differ by where you draw the line.
How to cite these figures
Cite it precisely: the May 2025 median wage for electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians was $73,900, per BLS, with about 15,700 jobs.
Give the range, not just the median, when pay is the point: roughly $47,840 to $109,890 between the 10th and 90th percentiles.
Flag the title. If you use this as a robotics-technician proxy, say so, because BLS does not publish a 'robotics technician' occupation.
Where people go wrong
Calling this 'robotics engineer' pay. It is a technician occupation with an associate's-degree entry point, and BLS does not file it as an engineering title.
Quoting the median as if it were a ceiling or a floor. It is the midpoint of a wide distribution.
Treating 3 percent growth as a boom. This occupation is projected to grow about as fast as the average, adding about 400 jobs over the decade.
How we checked
The figures trace to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook page for electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians. We confirmed $73,900, 15,700, 3 percent, $47,840, $109,890, the 400-job change and the 1,400 annual openings appear on that page.
Wage figures are May 2025; the employment projection runs 2025 to 2035. We kept BLS's own occupation name so the numbers are not silently reassigned to a title BLS does not use.
We treat this as the closest official proxy for robotics-maintenance work, and we say so, rather than presenting it as a dedicated robotics occupation.
Refreshed in October 2026, when the Handbook moved to May 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. The previous version reported a $70,760 median, about 15,000 jobs and 1 percent growth from the earlier data. The Handbook and O*NET now show the same figures for this occupation, so a gap readers may have seen between them before was a difference in data year, not in method.
Full source list
Primary sources, with live links. Every figure above traces to one of these.
- [A]U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics2025 (data for May 2024)
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electro-mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electro-mechanical-technicians.htm
Common questions
- Does BLS have a 'robotics technician' occupation?
- No. The closest is electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians, who install and maintain automated and robotic equipment. Robotics-technician figures usually come from there.
- How much do electro-mechanical and mechatronics technicians make?
- The May 2025 median was $73,900 a year, about $35.53 an hour, per BLS. The lowest 10 percent earned under $47,840 and the highest 10 percent over $109,890.
- How many of these jobs are there?
- About 15,700 in 2025. Employment is projected to grow 3 percent by 2035, about 400 jobs, about as fast as the average across occupations.
- Is this the same as a robotics engineer?
- No. This is a technician occupation, typically entered with an associate's degree. Robotics engineering work falls under different, higher-paid engineering occupations.
More data, traced to source
- What a robotics technician actually earns, and why the wage is hard to find
There is no federal wage line for a robotics technician. The government folds the job into a broader category with a median near $73,900 a year. This page shows where that number comes from and what it does and does not cover.
- Who keeps the robots running, and what they earn: $64,520
The people who keep factory robots and machinery running are industrial machinery mechanics: 446,900 of them, a median of $64,520 a year, in a field growing much faster than average. A different, larger job than 'robotics technician.'