Ever wondered how the things around you are made — from sneakers to smartphones to cars? The Advanced Manufacturing career path is where creativity meets cutting-edge technology. You’ll work with robotics, automation, and design tools to solve real-world problems and make production faster, smarter, and more sustainable.
From labs to smart factories, you’ll learn how to build, test, and improve the products that keep our world moving. If you like working with your hands, thinking critically, and seeing your ideas come to life, this is the place for you!
CHOOSE YOUR PATH IN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
Turn ideas into real products and find better ways to make things. Engineers use creativity, science, math, and technology to design, test, and improve everything from machines and electronics to medicines and new materials.
Work hands-on with the high-tech equipment that makes modern manufacturing possible. You could operate CNC machines and 3D printers, troubleshoot equipment, make repairs, and keep complex machines running.
Be part of the team that turns designs and materials into finished products. You’ll work with automated equipment, production systems, and technology to make products efficiently, safely, and with precision.
Work with robots and intelligent machines that can weld, move materials, assemble products, inspect parts, and more. You’ll program, operate, troubleshoot, and maintain the technology powering the factories of the future.
Make sure products are made correctly and people stay safe while making them. You’ll inspect and test products, solve quality problems, improve workplace safety, and help companies meet important standards.
Hot Jobs in Advanced Manufacturing
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERS
Design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and production coordination.
Education Level: Bachelor’s Degree
Mean Income: $104,100
MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
Perform engineering duties in planning and designing tools, engines, machines, and other mechanically functioning equipment. Oversee installation, operation, maintenance, and repair of equipment such as centralized heat, gas, water, and steam systems.
Education Level: Bachelor’s Degree
Mean Income: $99,600
INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE, & REPAIR WORKERS
All installation, maintenance, and repair workers not listed separately.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $48,600
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS
Research, design, develop, test, or supervise the manufacturing and installation of electrical equipment, components, or systems for commercial, industrial, military, or scientific use.
Education Level: Bachelor’s Degree
Mean Income: $109,300
ARCHITECTURAL & ENGINEERING MANAGERS
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities in such fields as architecture and engineering or research and development in these fields.
Education Level: Bachelor’s Degree
Mean Income: $147,700
FIRST-LINE SUPERVISORS OF MECHANICS, INSTALLERS, & REPAIRERS
Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of mechanics, installers, and repairers. May also advise customers on recommended services. Excludes team or work leaders.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $79,500
MOBILE HEAVY EQUIPMENT MECHANICS, EXCEPT ENGINES
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul mobile mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment, such as cranes, bulldozers, graders, and conveyors, used in construction, logging, and mining.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $63,900
MACHINISTS
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $56,000
INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE & REPAIR WORKERS
All installation, maintenance, and repair workers not listed separately.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $48,600
CUTTING, PUNCHING, & PRESS MACHINE SETTERS, OPERATORS, & TENDERS, METAL & PLASTIC
Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $45,100
TEAM ASSEMBLERS
Work as part of a team having responsibility for assembling an entire product or component of a product. Team assemblers can perform all tasks conducted by the team in the assembly process and rotate through all or most of them, rather than being assigned to a specific task on a permanent basis. May participate in making management decisions affecting the work. Includes team leaders who work as part of the team.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $45,100
FIRST-LINE SUPERVISORS OF PRODUCTION & OPERATING WORKERS
Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of production and operating workers, such as inspectors, precision workers, machine setters and operators, assemblers, fabricators, and plant and system operators. Excludes team or work leaders.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $70,600
INSPECTORS, TESTERS, SORTERS, SAMPLERS, & WEIGHERS
Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $50,100
WELDERS, CUTTERS, SOLDERERS, & BRAZERS
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $55,700
PAPER GOODS MACHINE SETTERS, OPERATORS & TENDERS
Set up, operate, or tend paper goods machines that perform a variety of functions, such as converting, sawing, corrugating, banding, wrapping, boxing, stitching, forming, or sealing paper or paperboard sheets into products.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $56,600
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGISTS & TECHNICIANS
Apply electrical and electronic theory and related knowledge, usually under the direction of engineering staff, to design, build, repair, adjust, and modify electrical components, circuitry, controls, and machinery for subsequent evaluation and use by engineering staff in making engineering design decisions.
Education Level: Associates Degree
Mean Income: $80,700
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS REPAIRERS, POWERHOUSE, SUBSTATION, & RELAY
Inspect, test, repair, or maintain electrical equipment in generating stations, substations, and in-service relays.
Education Level: Postsecondary non-degree award
Mean Income: $76,700
ELECTRO-MECHNICAL & MECHATRONICS TECHNOLOGISTS & TECHNICIANS
Operate, test, maintain, or adjust unmanned, automated, servomechanical, or electromechanical equipment. May operate unmanned submarines, aircraft, or other equipment to observe or record visual information at sites such as oil rigs, crop fields, buildings, or for similar infrastructure, deep ocean exploration, or hazardous waste removal. May assist engineers in testing and designing robotics equipment.
Education Level: Associates Degree
Mean Income: $72,800
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS DRAFTERS
Prepare wiring diagrams, circuit board assembly diagrams, and layout drawings used for the manufacture, installation, or repair of electrical equipment.
Education Level: Associates Degree
Mean Income: $68,000
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS TECHNOLOGISTS & TECHNICIANS
Operate, install, adjust, and maintain integrated computer/communications systems, consoles, simulators, and other data acquisition, test, and measurement instruments and equipment, which are used to launch, track, position, and evaluate air and space vehicles. May record and interpret test data.
Education Level: Associates Degree
Mean Income: $75,400
INSPECTORS, TESTERS, SORTERS, SAMPLERS, & WEIGHERS
Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $52,800
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGISTS & TECHNICIANS
Apply electrical and electronic theory and related knowledge, usually under the direction of engineering staff, to design, build, repair, adjust, and modify electrical components, circuitry, controls, and machinery for subsequent evaluation and use by engineering staff in making engineering design decisions.
Education Level: Associates Degree
Mean Income: $80,700
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY SPECIALISTS
Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors. May conduct inspections and enforce adherence to laws and regulations governing the health and safety of individuals. May be employed in the public or private sector.
Education Level: Bachelors Degree
Mean Income: $88,200
WEIGHERS, MEASURERS, CHECKERS, & SAMPLERS, RECORDKEEPING
Weigh, measure, and check materials, supplies, and equipment for the purpose of keeping relevant records. Duties are primarily clerical by nature. Includes workers who collect and keep record of samples of products or materials.
Education Level: High School Diploma or equivalent
Mean Income: $41,300
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS & SPECIALISTS, INCLUDING HEALTH
Conduct research or perform investigation for the purpose of identifying, abating, or eliminating sources of pollutants or hazards that affect either the environment or public health. Using knowledge of various scientific disciplines, may collect, synthesize, study, report, and recommend action based on data derived from measurements or observations of air, food, soil, water, and other sources.
Education Level: Bachelors Degree
Mean Income: $80,800
Your Future Is Made Here
Go inside local companies to see the people, technology, and careers powering advanced manufacturing in our region.
The Skills That Power Advanced Manufacturing
Six Sigma Certification
Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)
Certified Safety Professional
Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification
EPA HVAC Certification
HVAC Certification
Forklift Certification
American Society for Quality (ASQ) Certification
Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Certificate
Certified Quality Auditor
Construction
Electrical Engineering
HVAC
Machinery
Mechanical Engineering
Plumbing
Hand Tools
Housekeeping
Power Tool Operations
Preventive Maintenance
Auditing
Automation
Process Improvement
Project Management
Customer Relationship Management
Marketing
Sales Prospecting
Selling Methods
SolidWorks (CAD)
MicroStation (CAD Design Software)
Autodesk Revit
AutoCAD
Amazon Web Services
Automation
LESS
SAP Applications
Operating Systems
Salesforce
Excel Spreadsheets
C++, MATLAB, Python, SQL
Train for your Tomorrow
The Greater Roanoke region has a variety of training programs that can get you to the right career without a 4-year degree.
Mountain Gateway Community College (MGCC) is a two-year public institution of higher education headquartered in Clifton Forge, Virginia. The service region of MGCC includes the Cities of Buena Vista, Covington, and Lexington, and the Counties of Alleghany, Bath, Rockbridge, and northern Botetourt.
1000 College Drive
Clifton Forge, VA 24422
(540) 863-2820
Associate’s Degrees (2-year programs)
Career Studies Certificates (~1 year programs)
Electrical Troubleshooting – Level 2
Instrumentation Technology Fundamentals
Electrical Wiring Fundamentals
Practical Electrical Technician – Level 1
Career Training Certifications (Short-Term)
NCCER Industrial Maintenance Levels 1-4
Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)
For a full list of Programs of Study, click here.
Virginia Western Community College is a two-year public institution of higher education located in Roanoke, VA. The service region of VWCC includes the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, and the Counties of Roanoke, Craig, Franklin and southern Botetourt.
3094 Colonial Avenue SW
Roanoke, VA 24015
(540) 877-8922
Associate’s Degrees (2-year programs)
Career Training Certifications (Short-Term)
Mechatronics: Electricity – AC, DC, & Multimeters
Mechatronics: Fundamentals of Fluid Power
Mechatronics: Mechanical Systems
Mechatronics: Programmable Logic Controls (PLCs) & Sensors
For a full list of Programs of Study, click here.