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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Photonics Technicians?
Task-level automation exposure for Photonics Technicians: 24 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
24 of 24 tasks scored
Median Salary
$78,350 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
59,930 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.8%
employment change
5,400 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 51 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$43,640 – $107,060
Highest medians
Maine $107,060
New Mexico $101,750
Maryland $99,970
Washington $99,720
Virginia $98,410
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $43,640
Vermont $52,770
Tennessee $58,700
Louisiana $58,960
Arizona $59,580
State figures come from the 17-3029 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 48%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 23%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 12%
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 32/100
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
24 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) 29%
6 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 13%
3 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 58%
15 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
#20384 · Core · 77% automatable
Compute or record photonic test data.
text generation — Document test results from provided data
Analyze test or validation data. Document design or operational test results.
#16710 · Core · 10% automatable
Maintain clean working environments, according to clean room standards.
physical manipulation — Physical cleaning of work areas
Maintain clean work areas.
#16732 · Core · 18% automatable
Adjust or maintain equipment, such as lasers, laser systems, microscopes, oscilloscopes, pulse generators, power meters, beam analyzers, or energy measurement devices.
physical manipulation — Physical calibration of instruments requires hands
Calibrate scientific or technical equipment. Maintain electronic equipment.
#20385 · Core · 78% automatable
Document procedures, such as calibration of optical or fiber optic equipment.
text generation — Draft procedural documents from provided content
Prepare procedural documents.
#16726 · Core · 3% automatable
Set up or operate assembly or processing equipment, such as lasers, cameras, die bonders, wire bonders, dispensers, reflow ovens, soldering irons, die shears, wire pull testers, temperature or humidity chambers, or optical spectrum analyzers.
physical manipulation — Precision electronics assembly needs fine dexterity
Assemble precision electronics or optical equipment.
#16715 · Core · 48% automatable
Assist scientists or engineers in the conduct of photonic experiments.
decision support — AI assists analysis; hands-on research human
Assist engineers or scientists with research.
#16714 · Core · 68% automatable
Test or perform failure analysis for optomechanical or optoelectrical products, according to test plans.
data analysis — Quantitative failure analysis; domain judgment needed
Conduct quantitative failure analyses of operational data.
#16721 · Core · 55% automatable
Assist engineers in the development of new products, fixtures, tools, or processes.
text generation — AI drafts technical methods; expert validates feasibility
Design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation. Develop technical methods or processes.
#20386 · Core · 68% automatable
Recommend optical or optic equipment design or material changes to reduce costs or processing times.
decision support — Proposes design changes; human validates feasibility
Recommend technical design or process changes to improve efficiency, quality, or performance.
#16725 · Core · 15% automatable
Set up or operate prototype or test apparatus, such as control consoles, collimators, recording equipment, or cables.
physical manipulation — Hands-on control of industrial machinery in unstructured settings
Operate industrial equipment.
#16709 · Core · 68% automatable
Monitor inventory levels and order supplies as necessary.
data analysis — Materials inventory records and forecasting automatable
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products. Purchase materials, equipment, or other resources.
#16731 · Supplemental · 3% automatable
Assemble fiber optical, optoelectronic, or free-space optics components, subcomponents, assemblies, or subassemblies.
physical manipulation — Precision electronics assembly needs fine dexterity
Assemble precision electronics or optical equipment.
#20387 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Optimize photonic process parameters by making prototype or production devices.
physical manipulation — Physical prototype fabrication is hands-on work
Create physical models or prototypes.
#16723 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Splice fibers, using fusion splicing or other techniques.
physical manipulation — Instrumentation installation requires hands-on wiring
Install instrumentation or electronic equipment or systems.
#16730 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Build prototype optomechanical devices for use in equipment such as aerial cameras, gun sights, or telescopes.
physical manipulation — Physical prototype fabrication is hands-on work
Create physical models or prototypes.
#16724 · Supplemental · 30% automatable
Terminate, cure, polish, or test fiber cables with mechanical connectors.
data analysis — AI interprets results; human runs physical tests
Test performance of electrical, electronic, mechanical, or integrated systems or equipment.
#16716 · Supplemental · 72% automatable
Perform diagnostic analyses of processing steps, using analytical or metrological tools, such as microscopy, profilometry, or ellipsometry devices.
data analysis — Evaluates operations from data; human owns conclusions
Analyze operational data to evaluate operations, processes or products.
#16722 · Supplemental · 3% automatable
Assemble or adjust parts or related electrical units of prototypes to prepare for testing.
physical manipulation — Precision electronics assembly needs fine dexterity
Assemble precision electronics or optical equipment.
#16727 · Supplemental · 18% automatable
Repair or calibrate products, such as surgical lasers.
physical manipulation — Physical calibration of instruments requires hands
Calibrate scientific or technical equipment. Maintain electronic equipment.
#16719 · Supplemental · 28% automatable
Design, build, or modify fixtures used to assemble parts.
decision support — AI drafts electronics; engineer validates and tests
Assemble equipment or components. Design electronic or computer equipment or instrumentation.
#19731 · Supplemental · 3% automatable
Assemble components of energy-efficient optical communications systems involving photonic switches, optical backplanes, or optoelectronic interfaces.
physical manipulation — Precision electronics assembly needs fine dexterity
Assemble precision electronics or optical equipment.
#16720 · Supplemental · 42% automatable
Lay out cutting lines for machining, using drafting tools.
text generation — Electronics schematics need expert verification and standards
Create schematic drawings for electronics.
#16718 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Mix, pour, or use processing chemicals or gases according to safety standards or established operating procedures.
physical manipulation — Physical preparation of materials by hand
Prepare materials for processing.
#16729 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Fabricate devices, such as optoelectronic or semiconductor devices.
physical manipulation — Fabricating devices needs dexterous hands-on assembly
Fabricate devices or components.
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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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