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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Ship Engineers?
Task-level automation exposure for Ship Engineers: 17 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
32%
weighted task index
17 of 17 tasks scored
Median Salary
$109,530 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
8,400 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.7%
employment change
900 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 25 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$40,080 – $133,640
Highest medians
New York $133,640
Hawaii $131,640
Florida $130,480
Texas $127,810
Massachusetts $122,720
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $40,080
North Carolina $65,010
Maine $77,160
Michigan $79,170
Pennsylvania $80,210
State figures come from the 53-5031 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 32%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 45%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 10%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 18%
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 80/100
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
17 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) 18%
3 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 19%
3 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 62%
11 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 05/2025 · AI/SME
Use drone technology for ship inspections, maintenance, or other tasks.
Constituent Tasks
#14553 · Core · 45% automatable
Monitor engine, machinery, or equipment indicators when vessels are underway, and report abnormalities to appropriate shipboard staff.
text generation — Reporting malfunctions is structured information relay
Monitor engine operation or functioning. Report vehicle or equipment malfunctions.
#14552 · Core · 55% automatable
Monitor the availability, use, or condition of lifesaving equipment or pollution preventatives to ensure that international regulations are followed.
information retrieval — Digital tracking automatable; physical stock checks need humans
Monitor availability of equipment or supplies.
#14559 · Core · 25% automatable
Monitor and test operations of engines or other equipment so that malfunctions and their causes can be identified.
visual inspection — Engine monitoring requires on-machine sensing
Monitor engine operation or functioning.
#14558 · Core · 8% automatable
Start engines to propel ships, and regulate engines and power transmissions to control speeds of ships, according to directions from captains or bridge computers.
situated mobility — Vessel operation requires real-world navigation and control
Operate ships or other watercraft.
#14556 · Core · 25% automatable
Perform or participate in emergency drills, as required.
interpersonal — Emergency direction is live, high-stakes human command
Direct emergency management activities.
#14561 · Core · 8% automatable
Perform general marine vessel maintenance or repair work, such as repairing leaks, finishing interiors, refueling, or maintaining decks.
physical manipulation — Hands-on marine engine maintenance
Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14560 · Core · 8% automatable
Maintain or repair engines, electric motors, pumps, winches, or other mechanical or electrical equipment, or assist other crew members with maintenance or repair duties.
physical manipulation — Hands-on marine engine maintenance
Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14557 · Core · 82% automatable
Maintain complete records of engineering department activities, including machine operations.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#14562 · Core · 15% automatable
Operate or maintain off-loading liquid pumps or valves.
physical manipulation — Physical control of pumping equipment
Control pumps or pumping equipment.
#14554 · Core · 8% automatable
Maintain electrical power, heating, ventilation, refrigeration, water, or sewerage systems.
physical manipulation — Hands-on marine engine maintenance
Maintain watercraft engines or machinery.
#14567 · Core · 5% automatable
Install engine controls, propeller shafts, or propellers.
physical manipulation — Installing parts requires hands-on mechanical work
Install parts, assemblies, or attachments in transportation or material handling equipment.
#14563 · Core · 8% automatable
Clean engine parts and keep engine rooms clean.
physical manipulation — Machinery cleaning requires hands-on work
Clean facilities or work areas. Clean machinery or equipment.
#14555 · Core · 82% automatable
Record orders for changes in ship speed or direction, and note gauge readings or test data, such as revolutions per minute or voltage output, in engineering logs or bellbooks.
text generation — Record travel operational details from provided info
Record operational details of travel.
#14565 · Core · 75% automatable
Order and receive engine room stores, such as oil or spare parts, maintain inventories, and record usage of supplies.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data. Acquire supplies or equipment.
#14566 · Core · 35% automatable
Act as a liaison between a ship's captain and shore personnel to ensure that schedules and budgets are maintained and that the ship is operated safely and efficiently.
situated mobility — Vehicle movement coordination is real-time physical
Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
#14564 · Core · 25% automatable
Supervise marine engine technicians engaged in the maintenance or repair of mechanical or electrical marine vessels, and inspect their work to ensure that it is performed properly.
physical manipulation — Directing repair activities requires hands-on site oversight
Direct maintenance or repair activities.
#14568 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Fabricate engine replacement parts, such as valves, stay rods, or bolts, using metalworking machinery.
physical manipulation — Machine tool operation is hands-on skilled work
Fabricate products or components using machine tools.
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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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