← All 785 jobsFile 51-9021
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 1.7% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #657 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -1.7% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $48,540 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 26,600 in the US, with about 2,300 openings a year
The work, 18 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate cutting or grinding equipment9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Test characteristics of materials or products7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Notify others of emergencies or problems7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate pumping systems or equipment6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment6%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Evaluate production inputs or outputs4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Move materials, equipment, or supplies4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Collect samples of products or materials4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Mark materials or objects for identification3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Prepare mixtures or solutions3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 714 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 98 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 2,300 openings a year as people retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 66% of the workMixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders6% AI does, against 4% here-6.1% by 2035 · $48,990 · High school diploma
- Shares 62% of the workCleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders0% AI does, against 4% here+3.4% by 2035 · $43,530 · High school diploma
- Shares 62% of the workChemical Equipment Operators and Tenders4% AI does, against 4% here+3.6% by 2035 · $58,040 · High school diploma
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.05, higher than 12% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 51-9021 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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