GROUPS OF TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS ARE COMPARED IN TERMS OF CHARACTERISTICS OF EMPLOYMENT, SOURCE OF WORKERS, AND EDUCATIONAL AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS. SURVEY FINDINGS ARE GIVEN FOR EMPLOYER TRAINING PROGRAMS AND EMPLOYER VIEWS AND POLICIES ON THE UTILIZATION OF TECHNICIANS. THE SURVEY DATA WERE DERIVED FROM A SAMPLE OF 17,414 ESTABLISHMENTS LOCATED IN NEW YORK STATE, WHICH ACCOUNTED FOR 50.4 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL EMPLOYMENT OF ALL BUSINESSES, EXCLUSIVE OF AGRICULTURE, DOMESTIC SERVICE, THE MILITARY SERVICE, AND SELF-EMPLOYED. BASED ON THE SAMPLE, IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT 148,684 WORKERS WERE EMPLOYED IN TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS BY PRIVATE INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN NEW YORK STATE IN 1962. DATA FOR APPROXIMATELY 200 DIFFERENT TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS ARE GIVEN. ABOUT 14,600 ESTABLISHMENTS REPORTED HAVING EMPLOYEES IN TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS - 3.7 PERCENT OF A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY 393,500 BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENTS IN NEW YORK STATE. CONCLUSIONS WERE -- (1) ALTHOUGH THERE IS A LARGE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS, THEY DO NOT EMPLOY MANY WORKERS, DO NOT REPRESENT A LARGE DEMAND FOR MANPOWER OR A FIELD OF MANY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, (2) THESE TECHNICAL JOBS, NEVERTHELESS, ARE CRITICAL TO THE INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY, (3) AS THE PACE OF AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY QUICKENS, SOME INCREASE IN TECHNICIAN-ENGINEERING RATIOS MAY BE EXPECTED, AND (4) BOTH HIGH SCHOOLS AND POST-HIGH SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS HAVE HAD A ROLE IN EDUCATING FOR TECHNICAL OCCUPATIONS. "TECHNICAL MANPOWER IN NEW YORK STATE," SUPPLEMENT A, SUPPLEMENT B, AND VOLUME II (VT 000 577 - 000 579) ARE RELATED DOCUMENTS. (PS)