Human edge, steady

Layout workers, metal and plastic

Lay out reference points and dimensions on metal or plastic stock or workpieces, such as sheets, plates, tubes, structural shapes, castings, or machine parts, for further processing. Includes shipfitters.

AI Resistance Index 50 of 99

In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 50% 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 -3.4% 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): $63,870
Job growth to 2035: -3.4%
Openings a year: 500
People doing it (2025): 6,200
Usual route in: High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Plan work activities
Design materials or devices
Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Position materials or components for assembly
Assemble products or work aids
Operate lifting or moving equipment

What the work looks like

Mark curves, lines, holes, dimensions, and welding symbols onto workpieces, using scribes, soapstones, punches, and hand drills.
Plan locations and sequences of cutting, drilling, bending, rolling, punching, and welding operations, using compasses, protractors, dividers, and rules.
Fit and align fabricated parts to be welded or assembled.
Locate center lines and verify template positions, using measuring instruments such as gauge blocks, height gauges, and dial indicators.
Plan and develop layouts from blueprints and templates, applying knowledge of trigonometry, design, effects of heat, and properties of metals.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as the integration of programmable processes and equipment results in the replacement of workers.
Fewer of these jobs, as the integration of programmable processes and equipment replaces some workers and makes others more efficient.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Furniture finishersHuman edge, steady, Index 65, -3.5%
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plasticHuman edge, steady, Index 59, +0.6%
Plasterers and stucco masonsHuman edge, steady, Index 66, +2.8%
Shoe and leather workers and repairersHuman edge, steady, Index 54, -6.5%

Also known as: Layout Inspector, Layout Man, Layout Technician (Layout Tech), Layout Worker, Development Mechanic, Layout Fabricator, Layout Fitter, Layout Mechanic.

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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.