← All 785 jobsFile 51-9151
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 5.6% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #650 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -5.6% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $40,610 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 5,300 in the US, with about 600 openings a year
The work, 16 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: Operate industrial processing or production equipment23%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Process digital or online data22%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 202 conversations, and it got them there 81% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products15%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing7%
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: Process shipments or mail4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
AI helps with this: Prepare mixtures or solutions4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 714 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
Still yours: Monitor equipment operation3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain operational records3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position workpieces or materials on equipment3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Prepare industrial materials for processing or use2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Apply decorative finishes1%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,208 conversations, and it got them there 62% of the time.
Still yours: Cut materials1%
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 94 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 600 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 52% of the workPrepress Technicians and Workers23% AI does, against 4% here-15.3% by 2035 · $48,690 · Postsecondary certificate
- Shares 50% of the workExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4% AI does, against 4% here+1.5% by 2035 · $45,760 · High school diploma
- Shares 49% of the workPrint Binding and Finishing Workers5% AI does, against 4% here-17.5% by 2035 · $42,290 · 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 0.11, higher than 36% 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, 51-9151 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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