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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Telecommunications Engineering Specialists?
Task-level automation exposure for Telecommunications Engineering Specialists: 26 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
61%
weighted task index
26 of 26 tasks scored
Median Salary
$134,050 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
179,740 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+7.7%
employment change
9,600 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$78,200 – $168,070
Highest medians
Washington $168,070
New Jersey $162,350
Maryland $159,460
California $158,870
Massachusetts $155,060
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $78,200
Mississippi $90,990
Wyoming $100,520
Kansas $100,610
Iowa $103,050
State figures come from the 15-1241 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 61%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 4%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 47%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 16%
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 19/100
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
26 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) 63%
17 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 24%
6 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 12%
3 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
#16077 · Core · 82% automatable
Document technical specifications and operating standards for telecommunications equipment.
text generation — Draft technical specs from given requirements
Document technical specifications or requirements.
#16064 · Core · 57% automatable
Provide user support by diagnosing network and device problems and implementing technical or procedural solutions.
decision support — AI assists diagnosis; human executes fixes
Troubleshoot issues with computer applications or systems. Provide technical support for computer network issues.
#16073 · Core · 50% automatable
Implement system renovation projects in collaboration with technical staff, engineering consultants, installers, and vendors.
decision support — AI coordinates cross-team plans; human resolves conflicts
Coordinate project activities with other personnel or departments.
#16058 · Core · 80% automatable
Keep abreast of changes in industry practices and emerging telecommunications technology by reviewing current literature, talking with colleagues, participating in educational programs, attending meetings or workshops, or participating in professional organizations or conferences.
information retrieval — AI scans trend sources; human weighs relevance
Update knowledge about emerging industry or technology trends.
#16067 · Core · 60% automatable
Use computer-aided design (CAD) software to prepare or evaluate network diagrams, floor plans, or site configurations for existing facilities, renovations, or new systems.
data analysis — AI models comms systems; engineer verifies performance
Develop models of information or communications systems.
#16060 · Core · 65% automatable
Develop, maintain, or implement telecommunications disaster recovery plans to ensure business continuity.
text generation — Contingency plans drafted; organizational ownership human
Maintain contingency plans for disaster recovery.
#16059 · Core · 68% automatable
Estimate costs for system or component implementation and operation.
data analysis — Project time/cost estimation from parameters
Estimate time or monetary resources needed to complete projects.
#16083 · Core · 34% automatable
Install, or coordinate installation of, new or modified hardware, software, or programming modules of telecommunications systems.
physical manipulation — Software install often needs hands-on machine access
Install computer software. Install computer hardware. Coordinate software or hardware installation.
#16063 · Core · 65% automatable
Review and evaluate requests from engineers, managers, and technicians for system modifications.
decision support — Technology evaluation aided; strategic judgment human
Evaluate new technologies or methods.
#16074 · Core · 68% automatable
Implement or perform preventive maintenance, backup, or recovery procedures.
data analysis — Backup configuration largely automatable with oversight
Implement security measures for computer or information systems. Create electronic data backup to prevent loss of information.
#16072 · Core · 68% automatable
Inspect sites to determine physical configuration, such as device locations and conduit pathways.
data analysis — IT resource sizing from requirements; human approves
Identify information technology project resource requirements.
#16081 · Core · 42% automatable
Communicate with telecommunications vendors to obtain pricing and technical specifications for available hardware, software, or services.
data analysis — Product research aided; physical testing human
Conduct research to gain information about products or processes.
#16078 · Core · 78% automatable
Document procedures for hardware and software installation and use.
text generation — Draft operational procedure documentation
Document operational procedures.
#16062 · Core · 22% automatable
Supervise maintenance of telecommunications equipment.
physical manipulation — Physical hardware maintenance and part replacement
Maintain computer hardware.
#20366 · Core · 50% automatable
Instruct in use of voice, video, and data communications systems.
interpersonal — Hardware teaching aided by AI guides, human delivers
Teach others to use computer equipment or hardware.
#16079 · Core · 33% automatable
Work with personnel and facilities management staff to install, remove, or relocate user connectivity equipment and devices.
decision support — AI coordinates cross-team plans; human resolves conflicts
Install computer hardware. Coordinate project activities with other personnel or departments.
#16080 · Core · 55% automatable
Consult with users, administrators, and engineers to identify business and technical requirements for proposed system modifications or technology purchases.
interpersonal — Collaborative spec-setting requires human negotiation
Collaborate with others to determine design specifications or details.
#16061 · Core · 55% automatable
Test and evaluate hardware and software to determine efficiency, reliability, or compatibility with existing systems.
data analysis — Benchmarking hardware aided by AI, human runs rig
Test computer hardware performance. Evaluate project designs to determine adequacy or feasibility.
#16082 · Core · 72% automatable
Assess existing facilities' needs for new or modified telecommunications systems.
data analysis — Derives specs from project data; human validates requirements
Analyze project data to determine specifications or requirements.
#16076 · Core · 80% automatable
Document user support activity, such as system problems, corrective actions, resolution status, and completed equipment installations.
text generation — Document routine operational activities from inputs
Document operational activities.
#20365 · Core · 72% automatable
Order or maintain inventory of telecommunications equipment for customer premises equipment (CPE), facilities, access networks, or backbone networks.
data analysis — Equipment inventory tracking largely software-driven
Maintain the inventory of equipment.
#16065 · Core · 80% automatable
Prepare system activity and performance reports.
text generation — Draft network activity documentation from inputs
Document network-related activities or tasks.
#16066 · Core · 72% automatable
Prepare purchase requisitions for computer hardware and software, networking and telecommunications equipment, test equipment, cabling, or tools.
data analysis — Equipment inventory tracking largely software-driven
Maintain the inventory of equipment.
#16075 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Implement controls to provide security for operating systems, software, and data.
decision support — Security implementation needs human judgment and deployment
Implement security measures for computer or information systems.
#16069 · Supplemental · 78% automatable
Monitor and analyze system performance, such as network traffic, security, and capacity.
data analysis — AI monitors network performance via telemetry
Monitor the performance of computer networks. Analyze security of systems, network, or data.
#16070 · Supplemental · 60% automatable
Manage user access to systems and equipment through account management and password administration.
decision support — Security implementation needs human judgment and deployment
Implement security measures for computer or information systems.
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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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