Career Explorer Engineering and architecture
Human edge, steady
Electro-mechanical and mechatronics technologists and technicians
Operate, test, maintain, or adjust unmanned, automated, servomechanical, or electromechanical equipment. May operate unmanned submarines, aircraft, or other equipment to observe or record visual information at sites such as oil rigs, crop fields, buildings, or for similar infrastructure, deep ocean exploration, or hazardous waste removal. May assist engineers in testing and designing robotics equipment.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 64% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +2.6% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on physical dexterity and creative vision.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $73,900
- Job growth to 2035
- +2.6%
- Openings a year
- 1,400
- People doing it (2025)
- 15,700
- Usual route in
- Associate's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Program computer systems or production equipment
- Test performance of equipment or systems
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assemble equipment or components
- Maintain tools or equipment
- Design electrical or electronic systems or equipment
What the work looks like
- Develop, test, or program new robots.
- Test performance of electromechanical assemblies, using test instruments such as oscilloscopes, electronic voltmeters, or bridges.
- Install or program computer hardware or machine or instrumentation software in microprocessor-based systems.
- Read blueprints, schematics, diagrams, or technical orders to determine methods and sequences of assembly.
- Modify, maintain, or repair electrical, electronic, or mechanical components, equipment, or systems to ensure proper functioning.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as automation in manufacturing continues to increase.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Avionics techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 84, +9.4%
- Aerospace engineering and operations technologists and techniciansGrows with AI, Index 77, +11.9%
- Museum technicians and conservatorsHuman edge, growing, Index 71, +3.6%
- Agricultural techniciansGrows with AI, Index 66, +5.4%
Also known as: Electro-Mechanic, Electromechanical Technician (EM Technician), Electronics Technician (Electronics Tech), Mechanical Technician (Mechanical Tech), Automation Technician, Electrical and Instrumentation Technician (E and I Technician), Instrument Specialist, Process Control Technician.
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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.