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Power Distributors and Dispatchers
Lightly edited
AI performs some of this work. Most of it still needs a person. The BLS expects 1.2% more of these jobs by 2035, slower than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- #346 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +1.2% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $106,730 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 8,600 in the US, with about 700 openings a year
The work, 10 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 energy production or distribution equipment35%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Plan work activities12%
AI performed this in about 1 in 720 Copilot conversations and completed it 92% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain operational records11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Communicate with others about operational plans or activities8%
AI performed this in about 1 in 354 Copilot conversations and completed it 90% of the time.
Still yours: Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Monitor external affairs, trends, or events6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 179 conversations, and it got them there 87% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
AI helps with this: Determine resource needs of projects or operations6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,590 conversations, and it got them there 92% of the time.
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or 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 101 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 700 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 24% of the workShip Engineers3% AI does, against 20% here+2.7% by 2035 · $109,530 · Postsecondary certificate
- Shares 41% of the workStationary Engineers and Boiler Operators5% AI does, against 20% here+3.1% by 2035 · $78,620 · High school diploma
- Shares 33% of the workPlant and System Operators0% AI does, against 20% here+2.3% by 2035 · $62,470 · 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 0.15, higher than 51% 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, 51-8012 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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