AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders?

Task-level automation exposure for Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders: 29 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

24% weighted task index

29 of 29 tasks scored

Median Salary

$47,920 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Medium

31,600 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

-8.9% employment change

2,500 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 45 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$26,980 – $70,150

Highest medians

Arizona $70,150

Alaska $62,700

Washington $58,990

Illinois $58,840

Oregon $58,650

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $26,980

Montana $35,670

Mississippi $37,390

Alabama $40,050

Oklahoma $40,400

State figures come from the 51-4122 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 24%

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

Physical work 66%

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

Judgment & influence 14%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 7%

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 20/100 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

29 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) 11%

3 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 12%

3 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 77%

23 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

#10274 · Core · 73% automatable

Read blueprints, work orders, or production schedules to determine product or job instructions or specifications.

information retrieval — Parse specs and materials from orders

Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements. Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.

#10271 · Core · 28% automatable

Inspect, measure, or test completed metal workpieces to ensure conformance to specifications, using measuring and testing devices.

physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces

Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.

#10272 · Core · 82% automatable

Record operational information on specified production reports.

data analysis — Record production data into structured logs

Record operational or production data.

#10270 · Core · 5% automatable

Correct problems by adjusting controls or by stopping machines and opening holding devices.

physical manipulation — Manual welding requires dexterity and live judgment

Operate welding equipment.

#10267 · Core · 5% automatable

Set up, operate, or tend welding machines that join or bond components to fabricate metal products or assemblies.

physical manipulation — Manual welding requires dexterity and live judgment

Operate welding equipment.

#10282 · Core · 55% automatable

Select torch tips, alloys, flux, coil, tubing, or wire, according to metal types or thicknesses, data charts, or records.

decision support — Equipment selection against specs; human verifies fit

Select production equipment according to product specifications.

#10276 · Core · 7% automatable

Lay out, fit, or connect parts to be bonded, calculating production measurements, as necessary.

physical manipulation — Laying out parts is hands-on staging

Assemble metal or plastic parts or products. Lay out parts to prepare for assembly.

#10284 · Core · 9% automatable

Prepare metal surfaces or workpieces, using hand-operated equipment, such as grinders, cutters, or drills.

physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel

Reshape metal workpieces to established specifications. Operate grinding equipment. Operate cutting equipment.

#10292 · Core · 8% automatable

Mark weld points and positions of components on workpieces, using rules, squares, templates, or scribes.

physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on

Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.

#10286 · Core · 13% automatable

Set dials and timing controls to regulate electrical current, gas flow pressure, heating or cooling cycles, or shut-off.

physical manipulation — Manual gas flow control adjustment

Adjust equipment controls to regulate gas flow. Adjust flow of electricity to tools or production equipment.

#10266 · Core · 55% automatable

Turn and press knobs and buttons or enter operating instructions into computers to adjust and start welding machines.

physical manipulation — Command entry often needs physical equipment interface

Enter commands, instructions, or specifications into equipment.

#10275 · Core · 6% automatable

Assemble, align, and clamp workpieces into holding fixtures to bond, heat-treat, or solder fabricated metal components.

physical manipulation — Aligning parts for assembly needs hands and judgment

Assemble metal or plastic parts or products. Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly.

#10277 · Core · 30% automatable

Conduct trial runs before welding, soldering, or brazing, and make necessary adjustments to equipment.

physical manipulation — Operating production equipment physically on site

Conduct test runs of production equipment.

#10269 · Core · 30% automatable

Give directions to other workers regarding machine set-up and use.

interpersonal — Directing production operations is human supervisory authority

Direct operational or production activities.

#10285 · Core · 8% automatable

Clean, lubricate, maintain, and adjust equipment to maintain efficient operation, using air hoses, cleaning fluids, and hand tools.

physical manipulation — Physical production equipment maintenance

Clean production equipment. Maintain production or processing equipment. Lubricate production equipment.

#10281 · Core · 30% automatable

Select, position, align, and bolt jigs, holding fixtures, guides, or stops onto machines, using measuring instruments and hand tools.

decision support — Equipment selection against specs; human verifies fit

Select production equipment according to product specifications. Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.

#10279 · Core · 6% automatable

Remove completed workpieces or parts from machinery, using hand tools.

physical manipulation — Physically extracting parts from production equipment

Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.

#10280 · Core · 42% automatable

Observe meters, gauges, or machine operations to ensure that soldering or brazing processes meet specifications.

visual inspection — Sensor/vision monitoring possible, but physical verification and accountability remain human

Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.

#10290 · Core · 8% automatable

Transfer components, metal products, or assemblies, using moving equipment.

physical manipulation — Physical moving of products between work areas

Move products, materials, or equipment between work areas.

#10288 · Core · 25% automatable

Devise or build fixtures or jigs used to hold parts in place during welding, brazing, or soldering.

decision support — AI drafts tooling; machinist and engineer verify

Assemble machine tools, parts, or fixtures. Design tools, fixtures, or other devices for production equipment.

#10291 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Add chemicals or materials to workpieces or machines to facilitate bonding or to cool workpieces.

physical manipulation — Applying solutions to equipment is manual

Apply solutions to production equipment. Apply lubricants or coolants to workpieces.

#10287 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Tend auxiliary equipment used in welding processes.

physical manipulation — Manual welding requires dexterity and live judgment

Operate welding equipment.

#10283 · Supplemental · 74% automatable

Compute and record settings for new work, applying knowledge of metal properties, principles of welding, and shop mathematics.

data analysis — Record production data into structured logs

Calculate specific material, equipment, or labor requirements for production. Record operational or production data.

#10293 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Anneal finished workpieces to relieve internal stress.

physical manipulation — Heating workpieces requires physical operation

Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.

#10268 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Load or feed workpieces into welding machines to join or bond components.

physical manipulation — Feeding materials into equipment is physical

Load materials into production equipment. Feed materials or products into or through equipment.

#10289 · Supplemental · 7% automatable

Fill hoppers and position spouts to direct flow of flux or manually brush flux onto seams of workpieces.

physical manipulation — Soldering requires fine manual dexterity

Load materials into production equipment. Solder parts or workpieces.

#10273 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Start, monitor, and adjust robotic welding production lines.

physical manipulation — Manual welding requires dexterity and live judgment

Operate welding equipment.

#10278 · Supplemental · 10% automatable

Dress electrodes, using tip dressers, files, emery cloths, or dressing wheels.

physical manipulation — Soldering requires fine manual dexterity

Solder parts or workpieces.

#10294 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Immerse completed workpieces into water or acid baths to cool and clean components.

physical manipulation — Immersing workpieces in solutions by hand

Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions.

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Community Sentiment

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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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