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Skills that raise your pay

• Metrology and inspection

  Coordinate measuring machines and precision measurement. Quality departments pay for this.

• Industrial controls and automation

  Programmable controllers and robot cells. Short supply, immediate premium.

• Welding or machining certification

  Being able to make the part as well as test it makes you far harder to replace.

• Finite element analysis basics

  Running stress simulations is normally an engineer's job, and technologists who can do it get pulled upward.