← All 785 jobsFile 49-9043
Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 1.9% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- Joint #628 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -1.9% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $60,850 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 59,700 in the US, with about 4,400 openings a year
The work, 19 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: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Assemble equipment or components11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Disassemble equipment6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Test performance of equipment or systems5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,100 conversations, and it got them there 92% of the time.
AI helps with this: Communicate with others about operational plans or activities5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,065 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
AI helps with this: Coordinate with others to resolve problems5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 738 conversations, and it got them there 83% of the time.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Operate lifting or moving equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Purchase goods or services4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 214 conversations, and it got them there 91% of the time.
Still yours: Position tools or equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Repair tools or equipment3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Test characteristics of materials or products2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Prepare mixtures or solutions2%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 714 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 98 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 4,400 openings a year as people 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 workElectric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers0% AI does, against 5% here+4.4% by 2035 · $56,210 · High school diploma
- Shares 60% of the workIndustrial Machinery Mechanics8% AI does, against 5% here+17.8% by 2035 · $64,520 · High school diploma
- Shares 56% of the workHelpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers0% AI does, against 5% here+5.3% by 2035 · $39,630 · 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 0.10, higher than 33% 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, 49-9043 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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