Career Explorer Production
Human edge, steady
Production workers, all other
All production workers not listed separately.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 79% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +0.8% by 2035, slower than average. 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)
- $40,110
- Job growth to 2035
- +0.8%
- Openings a year
- 27,300
- People doing it (2025)
- 276,000
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Food processing workers, all otherHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +5.5%
- Fiberglass laminators and fabricatorsHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +4.6%
- Semiconductor processing techniciansHuman edge, growing, Index 87, +8.2%
- Packaging and filling machine operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 91, +4.1%
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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.