High-Tech Occupations by Metropolitan Statistical Area

The term high-tech has always denoted a very ambiguous and amorphous concept. An industry or an occupational field that is commonly known as high-tech one year could be using technology or skills that are considered to be standard only a few years later. Low-skilled workers can be found in industries known as high-tech, and most people would not consider these workers to be employed in high-tech occupations. Similarly, workers who perform highly skilled functions using the latest technology could be employed in very low-tech, older industries. However high-tech occupations are defined, practical knowledge would lead us to expect to find these occupations grouped together, either by wage rate, industry, or geographical area. This article uses criteria based on the level of technology utilization to identify high-tech occupations. It then provides a statistical summary by metropolitan statistical area (MSA) of the wage and employment estimates for technologically oriented occupations. According to the 2001 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, there were dramatic differences in these estimates by MSA.