Mechatronics and Robotics Degree: Programs, Automation Jobs and Pay in 2026

Q: "What is a mechatronics degree?"

"Mechatronics combines mechanical systems, electrical and electronic controls, and the software that coordinates them. A mechatronics or robotics program teaches you to install, program, troubleshoot and maintain automated production equipment - programmable logic controllers, industrial robots, sensors, drives, hydraulics and pneumatics, and the industrial networks that tie them together. Most programs are associate level, and a smaller number of bachelor's programs exist."

Q: "How much do mechatronics technologists make?"

"The national median annual wage for electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians is $73,900, or $35.53 per hour (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The bottom 10 percent earn $47,840 or less and the top 10 percent earn $109,890 or more, across employment of 15,520 nationally."

Q: "Can you earn a mechatronics degree online?"

"Partly. Controls theory, PLC logic, industrial networking and math transfer to distance delivery, and some programs ship lab kits or use remote-access equipment. Hands-on work with robots, drives and hydraulic trainers is difficult to replicate at home, so most programs that serve working adults are hybrid rather than fully online. Confirm the lab format before you enroll."

Q: "Is mechatronics a good career if automation is taking manufacturing jobs?"

"The data points the other way for maintenance roles. Computer numerically controlled tool operator employment is projected to change by -10.7% from 2024 to 2034, while industrial machinery mechanic employment is projected to change by 16.1% over the same period (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Automation is moving work toward the people who install, program and maintain the equipment. Individual outcomes may vary."

Q: "Do you need a license to work in mechatronics?"

"No. Unlike surveying, engineering or the building trades, mechatronics has no state license. That makes the credential portable across state lines, and it means employers weigh demonstrated skill and program reputation more heavily than in licensed fields."

Q: "What is the difference between a mechatronics technician and a robotics engineer?"

"The technologist rung is the one the government measures: electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians, at a median of $73,900 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Robotics and mechatronics engineering roles above it are real jobs at real employers, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics has not assigned them a separate occupation code, so no reliable national wage figure exists for them specifically. Treat any number you see quoted for a mechatronics engineer with caution and ask where it came from."

Q: "How long does a mechatronics degree take?"

"The associate degree that dominates this field is typically two years full-time and longer part-time while you keep working. Bachelor's programs in mechatronics or robotics engineering technology run four years. Prior trade training, apprenticeship coursework and industry certifications often transfer, so request a written transfer evaluation before you commit."

Q: "Is this a step up from a machinist or maintenance job?"

"It is the most direct one available in manufacturing. Computer numerically controlled tool operators earn a median of $50,690, machinists $58,750 and industrial machinery mechanics $64,520, against $73,900 for electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The skills overlap heavily with work you already do on the floor, which is why this transition is usually shorter than a full engineering degree."

Updated July 26, 2026 | TradeCareerPath Editorial Team

Quick answer: A mechatronics degree trains you on the systems that run automated production: PLCs, industrial robots, sensors, drives, and the networks connecting them. Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians earn a median of $73,900 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Most programs are associate level, and there is no state license, which makes the credential portable. The field is one of the few in manufacturing where the automation trend works in your favor.

Mechatronics and Robotics Degree at a Glance

Metric	Detail	Source
Median annual wage	$73,900 ($35.53 per hour)	BLS OEWS, May 2025
Wage range	$47,840 (10th pct) - $109,890 (90th pct)	BLS OEWS, May 2025
Employment	15,520 electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists	BLS OEWS, May 2025
Projected change (2024-34)	1.1%, about 1,300 openings per year	BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34
Typical credential	Associate degree, with a smaller bachelor’s tier in engineering technology	Program catalogs
Accreditation to look for	ABET-ETAC, where the program is engineering technology	ABET
License	None. Mechatronics is not a state-licensed occupation	-
SOC codes covered	17-3024 electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists; 49-9041 industrial machinery mechanics; 51-9161 CNC tool operators; 51-4041 machinists	BLS OEWS, May 2025

The Automation Argument, in the Government’s Own Numbers

Everyone in a plant has heard that automation is coming for the jobs. The federal projections say something more specific than that, and the distinction is the entire case for this degree.

Occupation	SOC	Employment	Median wage	Projected change 2024-34
CNC tool operators	51-9161	169,450	$50,690	-10.7%
Machinists	51-4041	287,050	$58,750	0.0%
Industrial machinery mechanics	49-9041	439,640	$64,520	+16.1%
Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists	17-3024	15,520	$73,900	+1.1%

Wages and employment: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Projections: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34.

Read the last column top to bottom. The occupation that runs the machine is projected to shrink by 10.7 percent. The occupation that keeps the machine running is projected to grow by 16.1 percent, adding about 45,700 openings a year. Automation is not deleting the work. It is moving the work from the person feeding the machine to the person who installs, programs and repairs it.

That is what a mechatronics program trains you for, and it is why this page exists on a trade site rather than an engineering one. The people best positioned for these jobs are already in the building.

What the Wage Ladder Actually Looks Like

Rung	SOC	Median	25th pct	75th pct	90th pct
CNC tool operators	51-9161	$50,690	$44,930	$61,760	$73,890
Machinists	51-4041	$58,750	$47,570	$67,700	$80,010
Industrial machinery mechanics	49-9041	$64,520	$55,010	$78,780	$95,170
Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists	17-3024	$73,900	$59,780	$88,540	$109,890

All figures BLS OEWS, May 2025.

The gaps between rungs are moderate, not dramatic, and that is worth being straight about. A skilled industrial machinery mechanic at the 90th percentile earns $95,170, which is more than a mechatronics technologist at the 75th percentile. Nobody should enroll expecting the credential alone to double their pay.

What the credential changes is the ceiling and the range of work. The mechatronics 90th percentile of $109,890 is the highest of the four rungs, and the jobs behind it are commissioning, controls programming, systems integration and automation support rather than repair calls. It also moves you toward roles that follow new equipment installations, which is where the growth is.

One caution on the size of this occupation. At 15,520 people nationally, electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists is a small category, and about 1,300 openings a year is not a large pool. Many people who do this work are counted in adjacent categories - industrial machinery mechanics being the largest, at 439,640. Treat the mechatronics wage as the target for the specialized end of the work, not as a headcount of every automation job in the country.

What These Programs Actually Teach

Automation work is a stack, and a program worth the tuition covers all of it rather than one layer:

Programmable logic controllers. Ladder logic and structured text, I/O configuration, timers and counters, and the troubleshooting discipline that finds a fault in a running line without guessing.
Industrial robotics. Teaching and programming articulated arms, tool center points, work envelopes, safe-guarding, and the integration between a robot and the cell around it.
Sensors and instrumentation. Proximity, vision, pressure, temperature and flow, plus signal conditioning and the calibration that keeps readings honest.
Drives and motion control. Variable frequency drives, servo systems, motor theory, and the tuning that stops a machine from tearing itself apart.
Hydraulics and pneumatics. Circuit reading, valves and actuators, and the failure patterns that repeat across every plant.
Industrial networking. Fieldbus and industrial Ethernet protocols, network topology, and increasingly the security exposure that comes with connecting a plant floor.
Mechanical fundamentals. Power transmission, alignment, bearings and preventive maintenance, which is the part experienced maintenance workers already own.

The last item is the reason this transition is shorter for people already in the trades. If you are a millwright, industrial maintenance technician or machinist, a meaningful share of the mechanical curriculum is review, and the new material is the controls and software layer. See college credit for apprenticeship and degree completion programs for how prior training gets evaluated, and employer tuition assistance if your plant supports study.

Associate or Bachelor’s, and What Accreditation to Look For

This field is associate-weighted, and unusually so. Most mechatronics, robotics technology and electromechanical technology programs award a two-year degree, and that is the credential most employers hire against. A smaller number of four-year programs exist, usually titled mechatronics engineering technology or robotics engineering technology.

Where the program is engineering technology, look for accreditation from the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET. Institutional accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor is a separate thing and matters for credit transfer, which is decided by the receiving institution and genuinely varies. Ask about both, and get any transfer evaluation in writing.

Because there is no license in this field, no board dictates which program counts. That cuts both ways. It makes the credential portable across state lines, and it means program quality is on you to assess. The practical questions are what equipment the labs actually contain, whether the controls platforms taught are the ones local employers run, and whether the program has standing relationships with plants in your area.

Where Is This Work Concentrated?

State	Median annual wage	Employment	Location quotient
New Mexico	$119,320	670	7.73
North Dakota	$82,820	90	2.09
Nevada	$82,010	220	1.42
Connecticut	$81,860	140	0.84
California	$81,550	1,850	1.02

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025.

New Mexico is the outlier of outliers. A location quotient of 7.73 means this occupation is more than seven times as concentrated there as in the average state labor market, at a median of $119,320 on employment of 670. That is a federal laboratory and defense research footprint, not a general manufacturing market, and it is not a pattern you can count on reproducing elsewhere.

The larger employment markets look different: California at 1,850 and a $81,550 median, Texas at 1,800 and $54,460, Massachusetts at 920 and $73,630, Michigan at 850 and $62,460, and North Carolina at 800 and $63,330 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Texas has nearly the same headcount as California at roughly two-thirds the median, which is a reminder that in an unlicensed field, industry mix drives pay more than geography alone.

For the feeder occupations the picture is more evenly spread. Industrial machinery mechanics number 56,950 in Texas, 26,830 in California, 22,160 in Pennsylvania, 21,950 in Ohio and 17,850 in Alabama, whose location quotient of 2.99 reflects a heavy manufacturing base (BLS OEWS, May 2025). If you are weighing where to work rather than where to study, that is the more useful list, because it is where the plants are.

A Note on Robotics Engineering Titles

Job postings for robotics engineer, mechatronics engineer and automation engineer are real and increasingly common. What does not exist is a federal occupation code for them, which means there is no official employment count or wage figure for those titles specifically. Anything presented as “the average mechatronics engineer salary” comes from job-board self-reporting, not from federal wage data, and this site does not publish numbers it cannot source.

What can be said plainly: those roles generally sit above the technologist rung, usually expect a four-year degree, and often draw from people who did technologist work first. If your goal is the engineering title rather than the technologist role, compare this path against online electrical engineering degree, online mechanical engineering degree and online industrial engineering degree, all of which map to coded occupations with published wages. Which engineering degree fits your trade compares them from a craft starting point, and machinist to industrial engineer describes that transition directly.

Is a Mechatronics Degree Worth It?

The case for: it is the shortest credentialed route out of a shrinking job category into a growing one, most programs are two years rather than four, the skills overlap heavily with maintenance work you may already do, there is no license to slow you down, and the wage ceiling at $109,890 is meaningfully above the machinist and CNC ceilings (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

The case against: the wage gap between an experienced maintenance technician and a mechatronics technologist is real but not enormous, the specifically-coded occupation is small at 15,520 jobs, and program quality varies widely in a field with no licensing body to set a floor. If your plant already runs modern automation and will train you on it, the on-the-job route may get you to the same place.

Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.

Colleges Offering This Degree

How we rank schools – graduation rate, graduate earnings, cost and retention. Advertising plays no part.

This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 10 of them carry a score.

Location / proximity to this page: Defines the local group
Graduation rate how often students finish: 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry whether it paid off: 25%
Average net price what students actually pay after aid; lower ranks higher: 20%
Retention rate how many come back for year two: 15%
Fully online availability whether you can study while working: 10%

Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.