← All 785 jobsFile 51-3093
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 0.3% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #590 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -0.3% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $41,590 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 31,200 in the US, with about 3,700 openings a year
The work, 17 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
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance17%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
Still yours: Operate industrial processing or production equipment13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes6%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain operational records5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment5%
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: Remove workpieces from production equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Notify others of emergencies or problems4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate lifting or moving equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate pumping systems or equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Collect samples of products or materials4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Signal others to coordinate work activities4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Move materials, equipment, or supplies3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate cutting or grinding equipment3%
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 100 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 3,700 openings a year as people retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 59% of the workCooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders0% AI does, against 6% here+5.9% by 2035 · $41,330 · High school diploma
- Shares 55% of the workCleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders0% AI does, against 6% here+3.4% by 2035 · $43,530 · High school diploma
- Shares 55% of the workCoating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders0% AI does, against 6% here+2.5% by 2035 · $48,250 · 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 0.09, higher than 31% 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, 51-3093 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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