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manufacturers rely heavily on a nation’s infrastructure to carry out their business. One of its major needs is energy. Manufacturers use more than 30 percent of the nation’s energy consumption, according to the US Energy Information Administration. In 2021, the US Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.2 trillion bill that provided funding to fix and/or expand roads, bridges, public transit systems, ports, waterways, and passenger and freight rail systems; to train current and future workers in cutting-edge technologies; and to meet other goals. While the funds from this bill are expected to help all manufacturing sectors, special earmarked funds will go toward the medical, semiconductor, and clean/ renewable energy manufacturing sectors, as well as other specialized sectors. Industry experts also believe that the act will encourage US companies to reshore their operations (bringing back production operations to the US from foreign countries; the opposite of offshore ), which will create more opportunities for US workers. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers estimates that up to 500,000 new jobs in manufacturing could be created by 2024 due to the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. These developments suggest that there will be strong job opportunities for technicians and other advanced manufacturing professionals. The Work of Advanced Manufacturing Technicians Advanced manufacturing technicians work in a wide range of settings (manufacturing plants, offices, and laboratories) and production sectors (biopharmaceuticals, steel, automobiles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, etc.). As a result, they perform a wide range of duties. In general, some of the main duties of advanced manufacturing technicians include:

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What Do Advanced Manufacturing Technicians Do?