MANUFACTURING OPERATORS

also known as:

PRODUCTION OPERATORS

PRODUCTION TECHNICIAN

MANUFACTURING TECHNICIAN

CHIP WORKER

SEMICONDUCTOR FAB OPERATOR

Unfortunately, all of the above terms are used interchangeably. This job is known by many different names, as shown above. Various combinations of the words "production", "manufacturing", "operator", and "technician" are used, depending on the company.

Regardless of the title, these jobs always involve manufacturing of some sort, whether it be computer chips, wood chips, or potato chips. The final product may be almost anything. Whatever is being manufactured, the "operator" keeps the line running. This involves feeding the machines, and perhaps performing simple maintenance or basic troubleshooting.

In a semiconductor fab (such as Intel, Freescale, Microchip, etc), these operators follow detailed procedures or "recipes" as they process the wafers going through the manufacturing process. They wear "bunny suits" which help maintain an ultra-clean facility.

Most often, a high school diploma is all that is really required for these operator jobs. Most semiconductor fabs provide extensive OJT to their new hires.

Some high-profile companies may require an AAS in Electronics for these positions. However, an AAS degree is not really necessary to perform the tasks required in these jobs. These companies will often hire people without an AAS degree to fill these positions when they need to hire large numbers of people quickly.

The AAS degree provides graduates with the ability to do detailed electronic troubleshooting down to the component level. These operator positions never require such detailed and specialized work. When a production operator runs into trouble with a machine, he will most often notify an E.T. to get the machine up and running again.