Conveyor operators and tenders

Control or tend conveyors or conveyor systems that move materials or products to and from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. May control speed and routing of materials or products.

AI Resistance Index 42 of 99

In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 42% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -2.6% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on physical dexterity.

AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.

Median pay (2025): $42,420
Job growth to 2035: -2.6%
Openings a year: 2,200
People doing it (2025): 29,000
Usual route in: No formal credential, then short on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools
Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Operate industrial processing or production equipment
Maintain vehicles in working condition
Notify others of emergencies or problems

What the work looks like

Manipulate controls, levers, and valves to start pumps, auxiliary equipment, or conveyors, and to adjust equipment positions, speeds, timing, and material flows.
Stop equipment or machinery and clear jams, using poles, bars, and hand tools, or remove damaged materials from conveyors.
Load, unload, or adjust materials or products on conveyors by hand, by using lifts, hoists, and scoops, or by opening gates, chutes, or hoppers.
Observe conveyor operations and monitor lights, dials, and gauges to maintain specified operating levels and to detect equipment malfunctions.
Distribute materials, supplies, and equipment to work stations, using lifts and trucks.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as firms use technology to supplant some functions of these operators.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Light truck driversHuman edge, growing, Index 75, +6.3%
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, handHuman edge, steady, Index 72, +1.8%
Hoist and winch operatorsHuman edge, steady, Index 69, +0.2%
Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 62, +0.4%

Also known as: Chipper Operator, Machine Operator, Packaging Line Operator, Process Operator, Conveyor Operator, Conveyor Tender, Flumer, Package Line Operator.

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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.