Annual Salary
£20,000 to £30,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Engineering design or Maintenance or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Engineering design or Maintenance or go back to all job sectors
Materials technicians test how materials behave under different conditions to help develop new products and improve existing ones.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: 9am to 5pm;
There will be
0.5% more Materials technician jobs in 2027.
As a materials technician, you may:
You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.
You could work in a laboratory, in a factory or in an office.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a college course to learn some of the skills you'll need for this job. Courses include:
You may need:
To become a materials technician, you could do a Non-destructive Testing Level 2 Intermediate or Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.
You could also do a Composites Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.
You'll usually need:
You could start as a lab assistant or trainee technician in a testing facility and train while you work to qualify.
Employers will expect you to have 4 or 5 GCSEs, including maths, English and a science, preferably physics or chemistry.
Some may want you to have A levels or equivalent qualifications in a subject such as applied science.
You can find out more about careers in materials engineering from Discover Materials and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
You could become a senior technician and register with the Engineering Council to get EngTech status.
With further qualifications you could qualify as a materials engineer.
You could also move into purchasing, sales or management.
You'll need: