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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians?
Task-level automation exposure for Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians: 13 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
22%
weighted task index
13 of 13 tasks scored
Median Salary
$57,550 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
23,220 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.9%
employment change
2,600 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 50 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$36,480 – $77,740
Highest medians
Hawaii $77,740
Massachusetts $74,160
Alaska $72,520
Vermont $72,350
New Jersey $71,880
Lowest medians
West Virginia $36,480
New Mexico $36,510
Puerto Rico $38,370
Oklahoma $39,920
Missouri $43,580
State figures come from the 49-3051 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 22%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 75%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 0%
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 8%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 33/100
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) 9%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 16%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 75%
10 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 07/2015 · Incumbent
Explain repair procedures to customers.
- Revision 07/2015 · Incumbent
Repair or replace engine mechanical equipment, such as power tilts, water pumps, bilge pumps, or power take-offs.
Replaced: Repair engine mechanical equipment, such as power tilts, bilge pumps, or power take-offs.
Constituent Tasks
#13764 · Core · 40% automatable
Start motors and monitor performance for signs of malfunctioning, such as smoke, excessive vibration, or misfiring.
visual inspection — Detecting subtle equipment problems needs on-site sensory judgment
Observe equipment in operation to detect potential problems.
#13765 · Core · 83% automatable
Document inspection and test results and work performed or to be performed.
text generation — Write test result reports from data
Document test results.
#13763 · Core · 8% automatable
Mount motors to boats, and operate boats at various speeds on waterways to conduct operational tests.
physical manipulation — Manual tool and equipment positioning in field
Position equipment using hand tools, power tools, or heavy equipment.
#13770 · Core · 8% automatable
Revision
Repair engine mechanical equipment, such as power tilts, bilge pumps, or power take-offs.
physical manipulation — Hands-on engine teardown and repair
Repair defective engines or engine components.
#20801 · Core · 8% automatable
Perform routine engine maintenance on motorboats, such as changing oil and filters.
physical manipulation — Hands-on vehicle servicing
Service vehicles to maintain functionality.
#13766 · Core · 10% automatable
Replace parts, such as gears, magneto points, piston rings, or spark plugs, and reassemble engines.
physical manipulation — Manual replacement of mechanical parts
Replace worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
#13767 · Core · 40% automatable
Idle motors and observe thermometers to determine the effectiveness of cooling systems.
visual inspection — Detecting subtle equipment problems needs on-site sensory judgment
Observe equipment in operation to detect potential problems.
#13771 · Core · 13% automatable
Inspect and repair or adjust propellers or propeller shafts.
visual inspection — Mechanical component inspection requires hands-on access
Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems. Repair defective engines or engine components.
#13769 · Core · 10% automatable
Adjust carburetor mixtures, electrical point settings, or timing while motors are running in water-filled test tanks.
physical manipulation — Hands-on vehicle component adjustment
Adjust vehicle components according to specifications.
#13768 · Core · 8% automatable
Set starter locks and align and repair steering or throttle controls, using gauges, screwdrivers, or wrenches.
physical manipulation — Physical alignment of machinery requires hands
Align equipment or machinery. Repair non-engine automotive or vehicle components.
#13762 · Core · 13% automatable
Disassemble and inspect motors to locate defective parts, using mechanic's hand tools and gauges.
visual inspection — Mechanical component inspection requires hands-on access
Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems. Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair.
#13773 · Core · 17% automatable
Adjust generators and replace faulty wiring, using hand tools and soldering irons.
physical manipulation — Hands-on wiring repair in physical environment
Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance. Repair electrical circuits or wiring.
#13772 · Core · 10% automatable
Repair or rework parts, using machine tools such as lathes, mills, drills, or grinders.
physical manipulation — Manual repair of worn mechanical parts
Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
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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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