Career Explorer Transport and logistics
Human edge, steady
Machine feeders and offbearers
Feed materials into or remove materials from machines or equipment that is automatic or tended by other workers.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 35% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -13.1% by 2035, expected to shrink.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $41,220
- Job growth to 2035
- -13.1%
- Openings a year
- 4,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 41,800
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- 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
- Package objects
- Inspect completed work or finished products
What the work looks like
- Inspect materials and products for defects, and to ensure conformance to specifications.
- Record production and operational data, such as amount of materials processed.
- Push dual control buttons and move controls to start, stop, or adjust machinery and equipment.
- Weigh or measure materials or products to ensure conformance to specifications.
- Identify and mark materials, products, and samples, following instructions.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as automated equipment replaces roles of loading and unloading products and materials into machinery and equipment.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Refuse and recyclable material collectorsHuman edge, steady, Index 56, +2.1%
- Motion picture projectionistsHuman edge, steady, Index 37, -6.2%
- Graders and sorters, agricultural productsHuman edge, steady, Index 48, -3.4%
- Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 42, -10.3%
Also known as: Dryer Feeder, Feeder, Machine Feeder, Offbearer, Cotton Tipper, Lug Loader, Sawmill Worker, Sewing Line Baler.
Is this career on your child's list?
Build a free Career Playbook matched to your child, or get a 90-day Action Plan with dated next steps, written for your child by name.
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.