What Were the Trends on the 3D Printing Job Market in 2022?

Every year, 3Dnatives takes a look at the 3D printing job market and identifies some of the recruitment trends therein based on the offers published on our dedicated job board. In 2022, we published more than 900 job offers on the French, English, Spanish, Italian and German sites, which is more than double the number of offers published last year. And we certainly saw some similarities this year compared to others: the market is looking for rather technical profiles and offering long-term contracts, proof that key players are investing in 3D technologies and betting on its sustainability. However, this year, it is the industrial sectors that have published the most offers: aerospace, automotive, medical, among others. These fields integrate additive manufacturing in their value chain and clearly are surrounding themselves with experts in the technologies in order to take full advantage of the benefits.

In 2022, 76% of the offers published on our job board were permanent contracts, which reflects a certain confidence in technology, since we are betting on the long term. Recruiters are thus strengthening their teams and surrounding themselves with qualified profiles for the coming years. It is also interesting to note that compared to last year, the number of internships has stayed constant at 19%. Students thus are continuing to benefit from practical training in the field that allows them to discover the world of additive manufacturing, which is particularly valuable for their future professional careers. They also have the opportunity to strengthen their skills and learn more technical know-how.

One 3D printing job trend was the fact that 76% of the published job offers were for permanent contracts

This is particularly important because recruiters are looking for technical profiles. In terms of trends, 3D printing jobs focusing on design, development, production and methods were the most sought after in 2022. They require more technical knowledge – we could point for example to offers such as printing technicians, additive manufacturing operators, and engineers. Support positions such as marketing are less sought after for the time being.