Calibration Technologists and Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 36% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 55% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 45% of the time, stays with people.
Execute or adapt procedures and techniques for calibrating measurement devices, by applying knowledge of measurement science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and electronics, sometimes under the direction of engineering staff. Determine measurement standard suitability for calibrating measurement devices. May perform preventive maintenance on equipment. May perform corrective actions to address identified calibration problems.
16,540 people do this job in the US. $67,820 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on15 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet7 h
- Stays with people18 h
Calibration Technologists and Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 15 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 7 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 18 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Analyze test data to identify defects or determine calibration requirements (about 4 h); Develop new calibration methods or techniques based on measurement science, analyses, or calibration requirements (about 3 h); Draw plans for developing jigs, fixtures, instruments, or other devices (about 3 h).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 55%
- 0%
- 45%
Anthropic's data does not cover this job.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 14%. Today's estimate: 37%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
None of this job's 14 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 65% of this job's working time as physical work. For 57% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 57% in a purpose-built cell. 0.57 of 3, the 290th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 35%
- No robot shown 8%
- In a purpose-built cell 57%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Develop new calibration methods or techniques based on measurement science, analyses, or calibration requirements.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 23% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 4.2 work days | 35%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Conduct calibration tests to determine performance or reliability of mechanical, structural, or electromechanical equipment.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, METTLER TOLEDO robotic mass comparators (comparator balance + robotic weight handler) (Mettler-Toledo) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 15% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Calibrate devices by comparing measurements of pressure, temperature, humidity, or other environmental conditions to known standards.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Beamex POC8 automatic pressure controller / CENTRiCAL calibration bench (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Draw plans for developing jigs, fixtures, instruments, or other devices.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 10% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | 69%Half by now | |
| Maintain or repair measurement devices or equipment used for calibration testing.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Analyze test data to identify defects or determine calibration requirements.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Write and submit reports about the results of calibration tests.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Disassemble and reassemble equipment for inspection.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Molg robotic microfactory (with ABB robots) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Plan sequences of calibration tests according to equipment specifications and scientific principles.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Verify part dimensions or clearances using precision measuring instruments to ensure conformance to specifications.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Q-Span Workstation (robotic gripper/calipers on Universal Robots UR3e) (New Scale Robotics) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Read blueprints, schematics, diagrams, or technical orders.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Visually inspect equipment to detect surface defects.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, AV&R automated visual inspection solution with OwlVision software (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 17 min4 min to 50 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians10% now, 21% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians39% now, 48% by 2028
- Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians35% now, 53% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment26% now, 32% by 2028
- Robotics Technicians22% now, 26% by 2028
- Automotive Engineering Technicians19% now, 19% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services3,390 people
- Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance1,440 people
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing1,180 people
- Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing680 people
- Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing450 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Calibration Technologists and Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 37% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 55% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (54% to 55% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Calibration Technologists and Technicians come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Analyze test data to identify defects or determine calibration requirements (97% of the task's time now); Develop new calibration methods or techniques based on measurement science, analyses, or calibration requirements (35% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Draw plans for developing jigs, fixtures, instruments, or other devices (69% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Calibration Technologists and Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Conduct calibration tests to determine performance or reliability of mechanical, structural, or electromechanical equipment; Calibrate devices by comparing measurements of pressure, temperature, humidity, or other environmental conditions to known standards; and Maintain or repair measurement devices or equipment used for calibration testing. Together such tasks are about 45% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Calibration Technologists and Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Calibration Technologists and Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 65% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 57% of the working time. Its index is 0.57 of 3. One example: METTLER TOLEDO robotic mass comparators (comparator balance + robotic weight handler) for "conduct calibration tests to determine performance or reliability of mechanical, structural, or electromechanical equipment". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 14 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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