Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians
80% skill match · $66,120
First step
- On-the-job training: over 1 month, up to and including 3 months.
Is this right for you?
- Tight deadlines are common
Jobs for Former Manufacturing Engineers
Manufacturing Engineers build complex problem solving, judgment and decision making and operations monitoring skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians (80%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Skills you enjoy
Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.Sorted by skill match.
25 careers that use your skills
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 80% | $66,120 | — | None |
| 2 | Materials Scientists | 75% | $117,790 | — | None |
| 3 | Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 75% | $74,510 | — | None |
| 4 | Logistics Engineers | 71% | $82,320Pay for the broader BLS group “Logisticians” | Not compared | None |
| 5 | Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians | 71% | $82,890 | — | None |
| 6 | Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers | 68% | $171,270Pay for the broader BLS group “Architectural and Engineering Managers” | Not compared | None |
| 7 | Industrial Production Managers | 67% | $126,060 | — | None |
| 8 | Telecommunications Engineering Specialists | 67% | $134,050Pay for the broader BLS group “Computer Network Architects” | Not compared | None |
| 9 | Food Scientists and Technologists | 66% | $88,720 | — | None |
| 10 | Chemists | 65% | $91,240 | — | None |
- 80%
- Median pay
- $66,120
- Pay change
- —
Extra educationNone - 75%
- Median pay
- $117,790
- Pay change
- —
Extra educationNone - 75%
- Median pay
- $74,510
- Pay change
- —
Extra educationNone - 71%
- Median pay
- $82,320
- Pay change
- Not compared
Extra educationNone - 71%
- Median pay
- $82,890
- Pay change
- —
Extra educationNone - 68%
- Median pay
- $171,270
- Pay change
- Not compared
Extra educationNone - 67%
- Median pay
- $126,060
- Pay change
- —
Extra educationNone - 67%
- Median pay
- $134,050
- Pay change
- Not compared
Extra educationNone - 66%
- Median pay
- $88,720
- Pay change
- —
Extra educationNone - 10Chemists65%
- Median pay
- $91,240
- Pay change
- —
Extra educationNone
Compared with Manufacturing Engineers, median —. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
Your transferable skills
How important each skill is in work as manufacturing engineers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
Complex Problem Solving4.00
Judgment and Decision Making3.88
Operations Monitoring3.88
Systems Analysis3.75
Systems Evaluation3.75
Technology Design3.62
Skills to learn
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
- Coordination
- Operation and Control
- Management of Financial Resources
- Management of Personnel Resources
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
Your top 3 moves, up close
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
Materials Scientists
75% skill match · $117,790
First step
- Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (62% of workers).
- On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.
Is this right for you?
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians
75% skill match · $74,510
First step
- Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (37% of workers).
- On-the-job training: over 6 months, up to and including 1 year.
Skills to add
Operation and Control
Is this right for you?
- Tight deadlines are common
- Mistakes can have serious consequences
Similar roles in the same field
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
Free help near you
Questions former manufacturing engineers ask
What jobs can former manufacturing engineers do?
The closest matches are Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians (80% skill match, median $66,120), Materials Scientists (75% skill match, median $117,790) and Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians (75% skill match, median $74,510), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Which manufacturing engineer career changes pay more?
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than manufacturing engineers at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
Do former manufacturing engineers need another degree?
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
How is the skill match calculated?
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.