← All 785 jobsFile 51-4111
Tool and Die Makers
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 9.2% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #530 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -9.2% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $64,050 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 56,700 in the US, with about 4,300 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
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment14%
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: Operate cutting or grinding equipment13%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position workpieces or materials on equipment6%
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: Operate industrial processing or production equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
Still yours: Assemble equipment or components5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques5%
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.
AI does this: Select materials or equipment for operations or projects4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 529 Copilot conversations and completed it 94% of the time.
Still yours: Operate lifting or moving equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Test performance of equipment or systems4%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,100 conversations, and it got them there 92% of the time.
Still yours: Drill holes in earth or materials3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Shape materials to create products3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Cut materials3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance2%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 510 conversations, and it got them there 94% of the time.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 91 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 4,300 openings a year as people retire or move on.
BLS on AIAutomation including CNC machine tools is expected to reduce employment. Source ↗
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 46% of the workOphthalmic Laboratory Technicians0% AI does, against 9% here+2.2% by 2035 · $39,460 · High school diploma
- Shares 34% of the workExtruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders4% AI does, against 9% here+1.5% by 2035 · $45,760 · High school diploma
- Shares 40% of the workMolding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic4% AI does, against 9% here-3.4% by 2035 · $44,350 · 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 28% 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, 51-4111 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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