← All 785 jobsFile 51-4061
Model Makers, Metal and Plastic
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 17.3% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #455 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -17.3% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $63,340 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 2,600 in the US, with about 200 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
Still yours: Assemble products or work aids14%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate cutting or grinding equipment10%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position materials or components for assembly9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Program computer systems or production equipment6%
AI performed this in about 1 in 822 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
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: Operate industrial processing or production equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Shape materials to create products5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Cut materials5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Drill holes in earth or materials5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Design industrial systems or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Assemble equipment or components5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Repair workpieces or products5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Coordinate with others to resolve problems4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 738 conversations, and it got them there 83% of the time.
Still yours: Maintain operational records2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques1%
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 83 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 200 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 35% of the workTire Builders0% AI does, against 12% here+0.8% by 2035 · $57,390 · High school diploma
- Shares 28% of the workCarpenters7% AI does, against 12% here+3.9% by 2035 · $60,580 · High school diploma
- Shares 28% of the workStructural Iron and Steel Workers7% AI does, against 12% here+3.1% by 2035 · $62,780 · 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 0.07, higher than 19% 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, 51-4061 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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