Career Explorer Installation and repair
Human edge, steady
Tire repairers and changers
Repair and replace tires.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 91% 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 +3.4% 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)
- $37,710
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.4%
- Openings a year
- 12,900
- People doing it (2025)
- 112,000
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Test performance of equipment or systems
- Purchase goods or services
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Assemble equipment or components
- Repair vehicle components
- Inspect vehicles
What the work looks like
- Unbolt and remove wheels from vehicles, using lug wrenches or other hand or power tools.
- Place wheels on balancing machines to determine counterweights required to balance wheels.
- Identify tire size and ply and inflate tires accordingly.
- Raise vehicles, using hydraulic jacks.
- Reassemble tires onto wheels.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as gasoline stations continue to reduce their automotive service offerings.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +5.3%
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
- Rock splitters, quarryHuman edge, growing, Index 92, +5.8%
- Construction laborersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.3%
Also known as: Lube Technician (Lube Tech), Service Technician (Service Tech), Tire Installer, Tire Shop Mechanic, Alignment Technician (Alignment Tech), Tire Alignment Technician (Tire Alignment Tech), Tire Changer, Tire Repairer.
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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.