Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment

Install, adjust, or maintain mobile electronics communication equipment, including sound, sonar, security, navigation, and surveillance systems on trains, watercraft, or other mobile equipment.

AI Resistance Index 80 of 99

Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 80% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +5.4% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.

AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.

Median pay (2025): $84,890
Job growth to 2035: +5.4%
Openings a year: 500
People doing it (2025): 6,600
Usual route in: College certificate, then moderate on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Test performance of equipment or systems
Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools
Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Repair electrical or electronic equipment
Install commercial or production equipment
Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment

What the work looks like

Inspect and test electrical systems and equipment to locate and diagnose malfunctions, using visual inspections, testing devices, and computer software.
Reassemble and test equipment after repairs.
Confer with customers to determine the nature of malfunctions.
Adjust, repair, or replace defective wiring and relays in ignition, lighting, air-conditioning, and safety control systems, using electrician's tools.
Install electrical equipment such as air-conditioning, heating, or ignition systems and components such as generator brushes and commutators, using hand tools.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

More of these jobs, as local governments need these workers to install, repair, and maintain smart transportation technologies such as diagnostic equipment on public bus and rail services.
More of these jobs, as rail transportation operators need these workers to install, repair, and maintain smart transportation technologies such as diagnostic equipment on trains and rail infrastructure.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Automotive service technicians and mechanicsHuman edge, growing, Index 88, +5.0%
Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanicsHuman edge, steady, Index 81, +2.3%
Rail car repairersHuman edge, steady, Index 85, +2.6%
Recreational vehicle service techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +9.7%

Also known as: Critical Systems Technician, Electronic Bench Technician, Locomotive Electrician, Power Technician (Power Tech), Electronics Mechanic, Ship Yard Electrical Person.

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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.