← All 785 jobsFile 51-5111
Prepress Technicians and Workers
Lightly edited
AI performs some of this work. Most of it still needs a person. The BLS expects 15.3% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #310 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -15.3% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $48,690 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 24,700 in the US, with about 2,100 openings a year
The work, 11 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 equipment30%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Program computer systems or production equipment18%
AI performed this in about 1 in 822 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products16%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Repair tools or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
AI does this: Select materials or equipment for operations or projects3%
AI performed this in about 1 in 529 Copilot conversations and completed it 94% of the time.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or products3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,462 conversations, and it got them there 90% of the time.
AI does this: Process digital or online data2%
AI performed this in about 1 in 136 Copilot conversations and completed it 81% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 85 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 2,100 openings a year as people 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 48% of the workFood Batchmakers9% AI does, against 23% here+6.5% by 2035 · $42,290 · High school diploma
- Shares 39% of the workExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4% AI does, against 23% here+1.5% by 2035 · $45,760 · High school diploma
- Shares 39% of the workPainting, Coating, and Decorating Workers8% AI does, against 23% here+1.3% by 2035 · $41,600 · No formal credential
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 0.13, higher than 46% 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, 51-5111 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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