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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Industrial Engineers?
Task-level automation exposure for Industrial Engineers: 20 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
61%
weighted task index
20 of 20 tasks scored
Median Salary
$102,440 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
365,740 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+12.4%
employment change
23,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$81,820 – $156,510
Highest medians
Alaska $156,510
Washington $129,050
Oregon $128,290
New Mexico $128,090
California $124,600
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $81,820
South Dakota $93,200
Mississippi $95,830
Kentucky $96,820
North Dakota $96,940
State figures come from the 17-2112 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 61%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 0%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 58%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 10%
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 28/100
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
20 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) 63%
13 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 32%
6 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 5%
1 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
#18607 · Core · 68% automatable
Estimate production costs, cost saving methods, and the effects of product design changes on expenditures for management review, action, and control.
data analysis — Operational cost estimation from data
Estimate operational costs.
#1394 · Core · 50% automatable
Plan and establish sequence of operations to fabricate and assemble parts or products and to promote efficient utilization.
decision support — Operational methods aided; human decides
Determine operational methods.
#1391 · Core · 72% automatable
Analyze statistical data and product specifications to determine standards and establish quality and reliability objectives of finished product.
data analysis — Derives specs from project data; human validates requirements
Analyze project data to determine specifications or requirements.
#18609 · Core · 56% automatable
Confer with clients, vendors, staff, and management personnel regarding purchases, product and production specifications, manufacturing capabilities, or project status.
text generation — Technical communication drafting well-supported
Confer with technical personnel to prepare designs or operational plans. Discuss designs or plans with clients. Communicate technical information to suppliers, contractors, or regulatory agencies.
#1400 · Core · 55% automatable
Communicate with management and user personnel to develop production and design standards.
interpersonal — Conferring with technical staff on plans is relational work
Confer with technical personnel to prepare designs or operational plans.
#1407 · Core · 60% automatable
Evaluate precision and accuracy of production and testing equipment and engineering drawings to formulate corrective action plan.
decision support — Design quality evaluation needs engineering judgment
Evaluate designs or specifications to ensure quality.
#1393 · Core · 68% automatable
Recommend methods for improving utilization of personnel, material, and utilities.
decision support — Proposes design changes; human validates feasibility
Recommend technical design or process changes to improve efficiency, quality, or performance.
#1403 · Core · 82% automatable
Record or oversee recording of information to ensure currency of engineering drawings and documentation of production problems.
text generation — Draft technical design docs from provided details
Document technical design details.
#1398 · Core · 55% automatable
Draft and design layout of equipment, materials, and workspace to illustrate maximum efficiency using drafting tools and computer.
text generation — Drafting diagrams aided; engineering validity needs human
Create graphical representations of industrial production systems.
#1405 · Core · 30% automatable
Direct workers engaged in product measurement, inspection, and testing activities to ensure quality control and reliability.
interpersonal — Supervising engineers needs accountability and motivation
Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.
#1392 · Core · 60% automatable
Develop manufacturing methods, labor utilization standards, and cost analysis systems to promote efficient staff and facility utilization.
text generation — AI drafts technical methods; expert validates feasibility
Develop technical methods or processes.
#1399 · Core · 80% automatable
Review production schedules, engineering specifications, orders, and related information to obtain knowledge of manufacturing methods, procedures, and activities.
text generation — Review technical docs to plan work
Review technical documents to plan work.
#1408 · Core · 74% automatable
Complete production reports, purchase orders, and material, tool, and equipment lists.
text generation — Generate operational reports from structured data
Prepare procedural documents. Prepare contracts, disclosures, or applications. Prepare operational reports.
#18608 · Core · 35% automatable
Coordinate and implement quality control objectives, activities, or procedures to resolve production problems, maximize product reliability, or minimize costs.
interpersonal — Directing QC needs human oversight of physical processes
Direct quality control activities.
#1406 · Core · 40% automatable
Implement methods and procedures for disposition of discrepant material and defective or damaged parts, and assess cost and responsibility.
decision support — Process improvements need physical/organizational execution
Implement design or process improvements.
#1395 · Core · 68% automatable
Apply statistical methods and perform mathematical calculations to determine manufacturing processes, staff requirements, and production standards.
data analysis — Analyzes design/requirements data; engineer owns judgment
Analyze design or requirements information for mechanical equipment or systems.
#1404 · Core · 80% automatable
Study operations sequence, material flow, functional statements, organization charts, and project information to determine worker functions and responsibilities.
text generation — Review technical docs to plan work
Review technical documents to plan work.
#1402 · Core · 60% automatable
Formulate sampling procedures and designs and develop forms and instructions for recording, evaluating, and reporting quality and reliability data.
decision support — Protocols drafted; scientific validity human-owned
Devise research or testing protocols.
#1410 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Regulate and alter workflow schedules according to established manufacturing sequences and lead times to expedite production operations.
decision support — Algorithmic scheduling with human oversight of constraints
Schedule operational activities.
#1409 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Schedule deliveries based on production forecasts, material substitutions, storage and handling facilities, and maintenance requirements.
decision support — Algorithmic scheduling with human oversight of constraints
Schedule operational activities.
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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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