AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Millwrights?

Task-level automation exposure for Millwrights: 23 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

13% weighted task index

23 of 23 tasks scored

Median Salary

$65,700 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Medium

40,330 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+0.9% employment change

3,200 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 48 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$50,950 – $107,540

Highest medians

New Jersey $107,540

New Mexico $90,230

Michigan $89,190

Wisconsin $82,630

Colorado $81,440

Lowest medians

Oklahoma $50,950

Virginia $51,430

Arkansas $56,310

Arizona $57,380

Mississippi $58,280

State figures come from the 49-9044 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 13%

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

Physical work 89%

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

Judgment & influence 4%

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 59/100 High

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

23 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) 0%

0 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 7%

2 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 93%

21 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 08/2024 · Occupational Expert

Inventory and store parts, tools, and equipment.

Constituent Tasks

#3041 · Core · 13% automatable

Replace defective parts of machine, or adjust clearances and alignment of moving parts.

physical manipulation — Hands-on equipment adjustment for performance

Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance. Replace worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.

#21083 · Core · 8% automatable

Align machines or equipment, using hoists, jacks, hand tools, squares, rules, micrometers, lasers, or plumb bobs.

physical manipulation — Physical alignment of machinery requires hands

Align equipment or machinery.

#3048 · Core · 8% automatable

Insert shims, adjust tension on nuts and bolts, or position parts, using hand tools and measuring instruments, to set specified clearances between moving and stationary parts.

physical manipulation — Manual torqueing of nuts and bolts

Adjust the tension of nuts or bolts. Position equipment using hand tools, power tools, or heavy equipment.

#3047 · Core · 27% automatable

Signal crane operator to lower basic assembly units to bedplate, and align unit to centerline.

interpersonal — Install/repair coordination is situated teamwork

Align equipment or machinery. Communicate with coworkers to coordinate installations or repairs.

#18785 · Core · 11% automatable

Conduct preventative maintenance and repair, and lubricate machines and equipment.

physical manipulation — Physical lubrication task requiring hands and access

Lubricate equipment to allow proper functioning. Maintain work equipment or machinery.

#3045 · Core · 4% automatable

Assemble and install equipment, using hand tools and power tools.

physical manipulation — Mechanical assembly needs hands and tools

Assemble mechanical components or machine parts.

#3051 · Core · 5% automatable

Assemble machines, and bolt, weld, rivet, or otherwise fasten them to foundation or other structures, using hand tools and power tools.

physical manipulation — Bolting objects is physical manipulation

Bolt objects into place. Assemble mechanical components or machine parts. Operate welding equipment.

#3049 · Core · 9% automatable

Move machinery and equipment, using hoists, dollies, rollers, and trucks.

physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control

Move materials, equipment, or supplies. Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.

#3054 · Core · 10% automatable

Level bedplate and establish centerline, using straightedge, levels, and transit.

physical manipulation — Hands-on leveling of machines with tools

Level machines or equipment.

#3055 · Core · 5% automatable

Dismantle machines, using hammers, wrenches, crowbars, and other hand tools.

physical manipulation — Dismantling heavy machinery is physical trade work

Dismantle heavy equipment or machinery.

#3053 · Core · 5% automatable

Bolt parts, such as side and deck plates, jaw plates, and journals, to basic assembly unit.

physical manipulation — Bolting objects is physical manipulation

Bolt objects into place.

#3052 · Core · 11% automatable

Lay out mounting holes, using measuring instruments, and drill holes with power drill.

physical manipulation — Drilling parts requires physical tool operation

Drill holes in parts, equipment, or materials. Lay out work according to specifications.

#3050 · Core · 4% automatable

Attach moving parts and subassemblies to basic assembly unit, using hand tools and power tools.

physical manipulation — Mechanical assembly needs hands and tools

Assemble mechanical components or machine parts.

#18786 · Core · 8% automatable

Weld, repair, and fabricate equipment or machinery.

physical manipulation — Part fabrication requires physical machining and handling

Fabricate parts or components. Operate welding equipment. Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.

#3056 · Core · 15% automatable

Shrink-fit bushings, sleeves, rings, liners, gears, and wheels to specified items, using portable gas heating equipment.

physical manipulation — Physical control of heating/drying equipment

Operate heating or drying equipment.

#18788 · Core · 45% automatable

Troubleshoot equipment, electrical components, hydraulics, or other mechanical systems.

decision support — Troubleshooting aided; hands-on diagnosis human

Troubleshoot equipment or systems operation problems.

#3057 · Core · 5% automatable

Dismantle machinery and equipment for shipment to installation site, performing installation and maintenance work as part of team.

physical manipulation — Dismantling heavy machinery is physical trade work

Dismantle heavy equipment or machinery.

#3043 · Core · 28% automatable

Connect power unit to machines or steam piping to equipment, and test unit to evaluate its mechanical operation.

physical manipulation — Hands-on mechanical testing in physical environment

Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.

#3046 · Core · 8% automatable

Position steel beams to support bedplates of machines and equipment, using blueprints and schematic drawings to determine work procedures.

physical manipulation — Manual tool and equipment positioning in field

Position equipment using hand tools, power tools, or heavy equipment.

#18787 · Core · 10% automatable

Fabricate and dismantle parts, equipment, and machines, using a cutting torch or other cutting equipment.

physical manipulation — Part fabrication requires physical machining and handling

Fabricate parts or components.

#3058 · Core · 10% automatable

Construct foundation for machines, using hand tools and building materials such as wood, cement, and steel.

physical manipulation — Part fabrication requires physical machining and handling

Fabricate parts or components.

#3060 · Core · 10% automatable

Operate engine lathe to grind, file, and turn machine parts to dimensional specifications.

physical manipulation — Precision grinding requires hands-on machine control

Grind parts to required dimensions.

#3059 · Supplemental · 50% automatable

Install robot and modify its program, using teach pendant.

physical manipulation — Program installation on equipment needs physical access

Install programs onto computer or computer-controlled equipment.

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Community Sentiment

Do you agree?

Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?

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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