Community Sentiment
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Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?
AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers?
Task-level automation exposure for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers: 31 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
35%
weighted task index
31 of 31 tasks scored
Median Salary
$48,570 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
597,370 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.5%
employment change
66,700 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$29,870 – $78,150
Highest medians
Alaska $78,150
Washington $64,420
Maryland $61,790
Hawaii $59,740
District of Columbia $59,730
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $29,870
Alabama $40,010
Mississippi $40,670
Guam $44,160
Michigan $44,490
State figures come from the 51-9061 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 35%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 27%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 18%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 8%
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 14/100
Low
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
31 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) 25%
7 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 16%
5 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 59%
19 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
#12472 · Core · 45% automatable
Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.
visual inspection — Material quality often needs hands-on or visual inspection
Evaluate quality of materials or products.
#12478 · Core · 12% automatable
Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status.
physical manipulation — Marking workpieces is hands-on physical task
Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
#12480 · Core · 28% automatable
Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
#20299 · Core · 65% automatable
Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems.
text generation — Notifying maintenance needs is routine messaging
Notify others of equipment repair or maintenance needs.
#12474 · Core · 28% automatable
Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
#12485 · Core · 82% automatable
Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#20300 · Core · 68% automatable
Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results.
decision support — Generates improvement options; human tailors and owns
Advise others on ways to improve processes or products.
#12486 · Core · 42% automatable
Read dials or meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels.
visual inspection — Sensor/vision monitoring possible, but physical verification and accountability remain human
Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.
#12495 · Core · 15% automatable
Make minor adjustments to equipment, such as turning setscrews to calibrate instruments to required tolerances.
physical manipulation — Physical calibration to specifications
Calibrate equipment to specifications.
#20298 · Core · 73% automatable
Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required.
information retrieval — Parse specs and materials from orders
Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements. Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
#20306 · Core · 25% automatable
Monitor production operations or equipment to ensure conformance to specifications, making necessary process or assembly adjustments.
visual inspection — Physical product flaw monitoring is on-machine
Monitor equipment operation to ensure that products are not flawed.
#12477 · Core · 82% automatable
Record inspection or test data, such as weights, temperatures, grades, or moisture content, and quantities inspected or graded.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#20304 · Core · 5% automatable
Position products, components, or parts for testing.
physical manipulation — Mounting workpieces is physical loading
Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.
#12487 · Core · 8% automatable
Remove defects, such as chips, burrs, or lap corroded or pitted surfaces.
physical manipulation — Hand finishing of metal edges with tools
Smooth metal surfaces or edges.
#12482 · Core · 8% automatable
Collect or select samples for testing or for use as models.
physical manipulation — Manual product sampling
Collect samples of materials or products for testing.
#20305 · Core · 4% automatable
Stack or arrange tested products for further processing, shipping, or packaging.
physical manipulation — Hands-on stacking of finished items
Stack finished items for further processing or shipment.
#20302 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Check arriving materials to ensure that they match purchase orders, submitting discrepancy reports as necessary.
physical manipulation — Chemical/physical testing requires lab manipulation
Test chemical or physical characteristics of materials or products.
#19920 · Supplemental · 22% automatable
Inspect or test raw materials, parts, or products to determine compliance with environmental standards.
physical manipulation — Chemical/physical testing requires lab manipulation
Test chemical or physical characteristics of materials or products.
#12481 · Supplemental · 78% automatable
Analyze test data, making computations as necessary, to determine test results.
data analysis — AI analyzes test results against criteria
Analyze test results.
#12484 · Supplemental · 30% automatable
Compare colors, shapes, textures, or grades of products or materials with color charts, templates, or samples to verify conformance to standards.
visual inspection — Vision AI assists but physical comparison is human
Compare physical characteristics of materials or products to specifications or standards.
#20301 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges.
physical manipulation — Hands-on repair of production machinery
Clean production equipment. Repair production equipment or tools. Maintain production or processing equipment.
#12491 · Supplemental · 17% automatable
Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes.
physical manipulation — Functional product testing is hands-on
Test products for functionality or quality. Fabricate parts or components. Connect electrical components or equipment.
#20311 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Administer tests to assess whether engineers or operators are qualified to use equipment.
decision support — Capability assessment aided by records, human decides
Evaluate capabilities or training needs.
#20307 · Supplemental · 42% automatable
Monitor machines that automatically measure, sort, or inspect products.
visual inspection — Sensor/vision monitoring possible, but physical verification and accountability remain human
Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.
#12497 · Supplemental · 52% automatable
Interpret legal requirements, provide safety information, or recommend compliance procedures to contractors, craft workers, engineers, or property owners.
decision support — Generates improvement options; human tailors and owns
Instruct workers to use equipment or perform technical procedures. Advise others on ways to improve processes or products.
#12488 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections.
physical manipulation — Hands-on repair of production machinery
Clean production equipment. Repair production equipment or tools.
#20308 · Supplemental · 45% automatable
Compute usable amounts of items in shipments.
visual inspection — Material quality often needs hands-on or visual inspection
Evaluate quality of materials or products.
#12493 · Supplemental · 28% automatable
Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications.
visual inspection — Material quality often needs hands-on or visual inspection
Evaluate quality of materials or products. Sort materials or products for processing, storing, shipping, or grading.
#20310 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Disassemble defective parts or components, such as inaccurate or worn gauges or measuring instruments.
physical manipulation — Disassembly requires hands-on tool use
Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair.
#20303 · Supplemental · 25% automatable
Compute defect percentages or averages, using formulas and calculators.
visual inspection — Defect inspection of physical items needs presence
Inspect items for damage or defects.
#20309 · Supplemental · 24% automatable
Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights or ingredient quantities.
physical manipulation — Physical measuring and dispensing of ingredients
Measure ingredients or substances to be used in production processes. Weigh finished products.
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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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