Career Explorer Production
Human edge, steady
Etchers and engravers
Engrave or etch metal, wood, rubber, or other materials. Includes such workers as etcher-circuit processors, pantograph engravers, and silk screen etchers.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 60% 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 -0.7% 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)
- $43,310
- Job growth to 2035
- -0.7%
- Openings a year
- 800
- People doing it (2025)
- 8,900
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
- Determine operational methods or procedures
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Inspect completed work or finished products
- Apply protective solutions or coatings
- Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment
What the work looks like
- Inspect etched work for depth of etching, uniformity, and defects, using calibrated microscopes, gauges, fingers, or magnifying lenses.
- Prepare workpieces for etching or engraving by cutting, sanding, cleaning, polishing, or treating them with wax, acid resist, lime, etching powder, or light-sensitive enamel.
- Engrave and print patterns, designs, etchings, trademarks, or lettering onto flat or curved surfaces of a wide variety of metal, glass, plastic, or paper items, using hand tools or hand-held power tools.
- Prepare etching chemicals according to formulas, diluting acid with water to obtain solutions of specified concentration.
- Use computer software to design patterns for engraving.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plasticHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +5.8%
- Furniture finishersHuman edge, steady, Index 65, -3.5%
- UpholsterersHuman edge, steady, Index 63, -2.3%
- Tile and stone settersHuman edge, growing, Index 92, +9.8%
Also known as: Chemical Engraver, Engraver, Etcher, Photo Engraver, Acid Etch Operator, Award Machine Operator, Electronic Engraver, Laser Engraver.
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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.