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Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 2.5% more of these jobs by 2035, slower than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- Joint #685 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +2.5% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $48,250 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 164,800 in the US, with about 15,300 openings a year
The work, 17 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Operate industrial processing or production equipment16%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Apply protective solutions or coatings12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance8%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Position workpieces or materials on equipment7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment7%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
Still yours: Dispose of waste or debris6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Disassemble equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,570 conversations, and it got them there 96% of the time.
Still yours: Operate lifting or moving equipment3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Build structures2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Remove workpieces from production equipment2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 102 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 15,300 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 61% of the workExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4% AI does, against 0% here+1.5% by 2035 · $45,760 · High school diploma
- Shares 57% of the workMolding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic4% AI does, against 0% here-3.4% by 2035 · $44,350 · High school diploma
- Shares 55% of the workFood Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders6% AI does, against 0% here-0.3% by 2035 · $41,590 · High school diploma
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.05, higher than 12% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 51-9124 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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