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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Engine and Other Machine Assemblers?
Task-level automation exposure for Engine and Other Machine Assemblers: 12 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
16%
weighted task index
12 of 12 tasks scored
Median Salary
$53,710 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
34,000 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-17.0%
employment change
2,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 35 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$36,030 – $74,750
Highest medians
Ohio $74,750
Washington $72,800
New Hampshire $70,150
Oregon $63,420
Connecticut $61,320
Lowest medians
Virginia $36,030
Georgia $38,540
Maryland $39,120
Kentucky $41,580
Kansas $42,590
State figures come from the 51-2031 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 16%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 71%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 10%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 0%
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 27/100
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
12 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) 10%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 0%
0 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 90%
11 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 →Constituent Tasks
#13962 · Core · 63% automatable
Read and interpret assembly blueprints or specifications manuals, and plan assembly or building operations.
visual inspection — Blueprints need spatial reading, human verifies sequence
Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences. Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
#13958 · Core · 20% automatable
Inspect, operate, and test completed products to verify functioning, machine capabilities, or conformance to customer specifications.
visual inspection — Installed assembly inspection needs physical access
Inspect installed components or assemblies.
#13959 · Core · 6% automatable
Position or align components for assembly, manually or using hoists.
physical manipulation — Aligning parts for assembly needs hands and judgment
Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly.
#13960 · Core · 5% automatable
Set and verify parts clearances.
physical manipulation — Manual fixture adjustment
Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.
#13965 · Core · 28% automatable
Verify conformance of parts to stock lists or blueprints, using measuring instruments such as calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
#13966 · Core · 4% automatable
Fasten or install piping, fixtures, or wiring and electrical components to form assemblies or subassemblies, using hand tools, rivet guns, or welding equipment.
physical manipulation — Electromechanical assembly requires hands-on fitting
Assemble electromechanical or hydraulic systems.
#13967 · Core · 8% automatable
Remove rough spots and smooth surfaces to fit, trim, or clean parts, using hand tools or power tools.
physical manipulation — Hand finishing of metal edges with tools
Smooth metal surfaces or edges.
#13968 · Core · 9% automatable
Lay out and drill, ream, tap, or cut parts for assembly.
physical manipulation — Drilling parts requires physical tool operation
Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing. Drill holes in parts, equipment, or materials. Lay out parts to prepare for assembly.
#13961 · Core · 10% automatable
Rework, repair, or replace damaged parts or assemblies.
physical manipulation — Physical disassembly and reassembly of parts
Repair parts or assemblies. Replace worn equipment components.
#13964 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Assemble systems of gears by aligning and meshing gears in gearboxes.
physical manipulation — Electromechanical assembly requires hands-on fitting
Assemble electromechanical or hydraulic systems.
#13969 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Set up and operate metalworking machines, such as milling or grinding machines, to shape or fabricate parts.
physical manipulation — Metal and plastic forming equipment run by hand
Operate metal or plastic forming equipment. Operate grinding equipment.
#13963 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Maintain and lubricate parts or components.
physical manipulation — Manual application of lubricants to workpieces
Apply lubricants or coolants to workpieces.
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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
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