AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Wind Turbine Service Technicians?

Task-level automation exposure for Wind Turbine Service Technicians: 12 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

E-E-A-T Verified

Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

25% weighted task index

12 of 12 tasks scored

Median Salary

$64,120 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

9,980 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+29.5% employment change

1,500 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.

$50,040 – $81,330

Highest medians

New York $81,330

Kansas $78,240

California $77,910

Indiana $76,680

Washington $75,880

Lowest medians

Mississippi $50,040

New Mexico $57,230

Maine $59,220

Oklahoma $59,290

Idaho $60,810

State figures come from the 49-9081 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 25%

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 18%

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

Routine administration 0%

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 81/100 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

12 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%) 7%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 84%

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 →

Constituent Tasks

#17806 · Core · 27% automatable

Troubleshoot or repair mechanical, hydraulic, or electrical malfunctions related to variable pitch systems, variable speed control systems, converter systems, or related components.

decision support — Troubleshooting aided; hands-on diagnosis human

Troubleshoot equipment or systems operation problems. Repair green energy equipment or systems.

#17809 · Core · 10% automatable

Perform routine maintenance on wind turbine equipment, underground transmission systems, wind fields substations, or fiber optic sensing and control systems.

physical manipulation — Physical maintenance of machinery

Maintain work equipment or machinery.

#17808 · Core · 8% automatable

Diagnose problems involving wind turbine generators or control systems.

physical manipulation — Physical repair of installed energy systems

Repair green energy equipment or systems.

#17811 · Core · 25% automatable

Test electrical components of wind systems with devices, such as voltage testers, multimeters, oscilloscopes, infrared testers, or fiber optic equipment.

physical manipulation — Electrical probing and meter work by hand

Test electrical circuits or components for proper functioning.

#17810 · Core · 28% automatable

Start or restart wind turbine generator systems to ensure proper operations.

physical manipulation — Hands-on mechanical testing in physical environment

Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.

#17807 · Core · 3% automatable

Climb wind turbine towers to inspect, maintain, or repair equipment.

situated mobility — Climbing structures requires physical mobility

Climb equipment or structures to access work areas.

#17815 · Core · 70% automatable

Maintain tool and spare parts inventories required for repair, installation, or replacement services.

data analysis — Materials inventory records and forecasting automatable

Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.

#17812 · Core · 28% automatable

Test structures, controls, or mechanical, hydraulic, or electrical systems, according to test plans or in coordination with engineers.

data analysis — Electrical testing requires hands-on instrument use

Test electrical equipment or systems to ensure proper functioning. Test mechanical systems to ensure proper functioning.

#17817 · Core · 42% automatable

Train end-users, distributors, installers, or other technicians in wind commissioning, testing, or other technical procedures.

interpersonal — Operational training requires live human delivery

Train others in operational procedures. Train customers in the use of products.

#17814 · Core · 32% automatable

Collect turbine data for testing or research and analysis.

physical manipulation — Requires physical gauges and instrument reading

Measure equipment outputs.

#17805 · Supplemental · 13% automatable

Inspect or repair fiberglass turbine blades.

visual inspection — Locating wear and damage requires physical inspection

Inspect mechanical equipment to locate damage, defects, or wear. Repair green energy equipment or systems.

#17813 · Supplemental · 3% automatable

Assist in assembly of individual wind generators or construction of wind farms.

physical manipulation — Assembling structural components is hands-on

Assemble structural components.

Embed this calculator on your site ↓

Bloggers & authors: Embed this interactive calculator directly in your articles or comparison guides. It loads dynamically via a responsive iframe (auto-resizing to prevent double scrollbars) and provides a direct, high-value tool for your audience.

<div class="giniloh-calculator-embed" data-calculator="wind-turbine-service-technicians"></div>
<script src="https://giniloh.com/embed.js" async></script>

Community Sentiment

Do you agree?

Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?

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 →

Best AI Proof Jobs in a Changing Market

Worried robots are coming for your paycheck? You’re not alone—but the real story is far more hopeful. This guide cuts through the scare headlines to reveal exactly where smart, sustainable career opportunities exist right now. We’ve curated a list of true ai proof jobs—roles in healthcare, skilled trades, and cybersecurity that not only survive automation but thrive because of human judgment and empathy. You’ll get specific, money-making data on projected growth (the BLS says wind turbine technicians, for instance, will grow 44% by 2032), real salary ranges from active job listings, and a simple self-assessment quiz to identify your own most resilient path. Plus, we name companies hiring today and the niche job boards they use. Stop worrying and start planning—your secure career is closer than you think.

Read Article ->