Installation & Repair · SOC 49-9043
Machinery lubrication and parts replacement is hands-on, physically demanding work with minimal cognitive tasks that AI could absorb.
Hands-on, interpersonal or high-stakes work AI struggles to replace.
Timeline: This role involves fundamental physical maintenance; automation affects scheduling and tracking but not the hands-on work, keeping it stable through 2035.
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$47,200 median pay
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AI job-risk card
Maintenance Workers, Machinery is resilient on AIFear. Hands-on, interpersonal or high-stakes work AI struggles to replace.
AIFear.com
Our AI Fear Score for Maintenance Workers, Machinery is 9/100 (Resilient). Hands-on, interpersonal or high-stakes work AI struggles to replace.
9 out of 100, based on an AI-model review of this occupation's O*NET tasks against what current AI can actually do.
Most exposed: Maintenance schedule tracking and logging, Parts inventory management. Harder to automate: Physical disassembly with chain falls and cranes, Part installation according to production specs, Machine setup, operation, and adjustment, Reassembly and functional verification.
Lean into Lubrication and tribology fundamentals, Predictive maintenance tool usage (vibration, thermography), Machine control and safety lockout/tagout (LOTO), Mechanical blueprint reading. Consider roles such as Industrial maintenance technician or Reliability maintenance specialist or Machine operator trainer.
Tasks, skills and AI-exposure for this role were reviewed by an AI model against its O*NET task profile (curated roles use published research anchors). Pay and employment, where shown, are U.S. BLS OEWS (May 2024) figures. This is an estimate, not a prediction about any individual's job. Compare all occupations.