AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Avionics Technicians?

Task-level automation exposure for Avionics Technicians: 13 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

28% weighted task index

13 of 13 tasks scored

Median Salary

$82,280 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

18,830 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+9.4% employment change

1,700 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 43 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$37,660 – $117,470

Highest medians

Pennsylvania $117,470

New Jersey $100,250

Maryland $97,490

Alabama $95,920

Alaska $94,810

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $37,660

Kentucky $42,440

Arkansas $54,160

Minnesota $55,660

Montana $57,420

State figures come from the 49-2091 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 28%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 55%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 15%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 9%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 32/100 Moderate

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

13 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 15%

2 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 23%

3 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 62%

8 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Emerging & rewritten tasks

Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.

New 05/2025 · AI/SME

Perform installation, testing, adjustment, and repair of avionics equipment in uncrewed aerial vehicles, such as drones.

Constituent Tasks

#9939 · Core · 10% automatable

Adjust, repair, or replace malfunctioning components or assemblies, using hand tools or soldering irons.

physical manipulation — Hands-on equipment adjustment for performance

Install machine or equipment replacement parts. Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance. Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.

#9943 · Core · 10% automatable

Lay out installation of aircraft assemblies and systems, following documentation such as blueprints, manuals, and wiring diagrams.

physical manipulation — Laying out work physically per specifications

Lay out work according to specifications.

#9935 · Core · 80% automatable

Keep records of maintenance and repair work.

text generation — Log maintenance and repair records from data

Maintain repair or maintenance records.

#9934 · Core · 37% automatable

Test and troubleshoot instruments, components, and assemblies, using circuit testers, oscilloscopes, or voltmeters.

decision support — Troubleshooting aided; hands-on diagnosis human

Test electrical equipment or systems to ensure proper functioning. Troubleshoot equipment or systems operation problems.

#9940 · Core · 8% automatable

Connect components to assemblies such as radio systems, instruments, magnetos, inverters, and in-flight refueling systems, using hand tools and soldering irons.

physical manipulation — Electrical installation is hands-on licensed trade work

Install electrical components, equipment, or systems.

#9938 · Core · 8% automatable

Install electrical and electronic components, assemblies, and systems in aircraft, using hand tools, power tools, or soldering irons.

physical manipulation — Electrical installation is hands-on licensed trade work

Install electrical components, equipment, or systems.

#9936 · Core · 48% automatable

Coordinate work with that of engineers, technicians, and other aircraft maintenance personnel.

interpersonal — Real-time coworker coordination is relational work

Confer with coworkers to coordinate work activities.

#9933 · Core · 28% automatable

Set up and operate ground support and test equipment to perform functional flight tests of electrical and electronic systems.

data analysis — Electrical testing requires hands-on instrument use

Test electrical equipment or systems to ensure proper functioning.

#9941 · Core · 4% automatable

Assemble components such as switches, electrical controls, and junction boxes, using hand tools or soldering irons.

physical manipulation — Electrical subsystem assembly requires manual dexterity

Assemble electrical components, subsystems, or systems.

#9937 · Core · 66% automatable

Interpret flight test data to diagnose malfunctions and systemic performance problems.

data analysis — Performance data analysis; equipment context human

Analyze test or performance data to assess equipment operation.

#9942 · Core · 10% automatable

Fabricate parts and test aids as required.

physical manipulation — Part fabrication requires physical machining and handling

Fabricate parts or components.

#9945 · Core · 50% automatable

Operate computer-aided drafting and design applications to design avionics system modifications.

decision support — AI proposes configurations; engineer verifies physical constraints

Develop equipment or component configurations.

#9944 · Core · 4% automatable

Assemble prototypes or models of circuits, instruments, and systems for use in testing.

physical manipulation — Electrical subsystem assembly requires manual dexterity

Assemble electrical components, subsystems, or systems.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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