Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 35% 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 53% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 47% of the time, stays with people.
Apply theory and principles of mechanical engineering to modify, develop, test, or adjust machinery and equipment under direction of engineering staff or physical scientists.
36,190 people do this job in the US. $74,510 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on14 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet7 h
- Stays with people19 h
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 14 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 7 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 19 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Calculate required capacities for equipment of proposed system to obtain specified performance and submit data to engineering personnel for approval (about 3 h); Prepare specifications, designs, or sketches for machines, components, or systems related to the generation, transmission, or use of mechanical or fluid energy (about 1 h); Draft detail drawing or sketch for drafting room completion or to request parts fabrication by machine, sheet or wood shops (about 1 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.
- 53%
- 1%
- 46%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
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, 12%. Today's estimate: 35%.
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
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.17% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 113th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 2 of its 30 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.33% to 0.24% (released February and March 2025); 0.28% to 0.066% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.17% to 0.17% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.33% | 64 of 708 | 8 of 30 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.24% | 83 of 703 | 8 of 30 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.28% | 66 of 655 | 4 of 30 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.063% | 211 of 672 | 4 of 30 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.066% | 213 of 677 | 3 of 30 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.17% | 113 of 434 | 2 of 30 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.17% | 113 of 447 | 2 of 30 |
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 45% of this job's working time as physical work. For 33% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 33% in a purpose-built cell. 0.33 of 3, the 374th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 55%
- No robot shown 12%
- In a purpose-built cell 33%
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 . 30 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assemble or disassemble complex mechanical systems.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Honda Alabama automated engine assembly line (robotic assembly stations) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Design specialized or customized equipment, machines, or structures.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 12% | 3.1 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 12%Half by Aug 2027 | |
| Test machines, components, materials, or products to determine characteristics such as performance, strength, or response to stress.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Instron AT6 automated testing system (with Bluehill Automation) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Calculate required capacities for equipment of proposed system to obtain specified performance and submit data to engineering personnel for approval.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 96%Half by now | |
| Set up prototype and test apparatus and operate test controlling equipment to observe and record prototype test results.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Averna robotic end-of-line test cells (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Devise, fabricate, or assemble new or modified mechanical components for products such as industrial machinery or equipment, and measuring instruments.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Hadrian automated precision machining factory (Hermle CNC machines, robotic arms, CAM automation, CMM inspection) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1 work day3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Set up and conduct tests of complete units and components under operational conditions to investigate proposals for improving equipment performance.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Valiant TMS Automatic End-of-Line Test Bench (EDU/transmission) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 5 h2.1 h to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Prepare specifications, designs, or sketches for machines, components, or systems related to the generation, transmission, or use of mechanical or fluid energy.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 73%Half by now | |
| Design molds, tools, dies, jigs, or fixtures for use in manufacturing processes.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1 work day2.5 h to 3.1 work days | 52%Half by now | |
| Assist engineers to design, develop, test, or manufacture industrial machinery, consumer products, or other equipment.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Universal Robots UR10e machine-tending cells at Raymath (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Conduct failure analyses, document results, and recommend corrective actions.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 73%Half by now | |
| Prepare layouts of machinery, tools, plants, or equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 5 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 73%Half by now |
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.
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians37% now, 55% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians39% now, 48% by 2028
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians10% now, 21% by 2028
- Robotics Technicians22% now, 26% by 2028
- Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians34% now, 69% by 2028
- Mechanical Drafters71% now, 97% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
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 Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 35% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 53% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (49% to 53% 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 Mechanical Engineering 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: Calculate required capacities for equipment of proposed system to obtain specified performance and submit data to engineering personnel for approval (96% of the task's time now); Prepare specifications, designs, or sketches for machines, components, or systems related to the generation, transmission, or use of mechanical or fluid energy (73% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Draft detail drawing or sketch for drafting room completion or to request parts fabrication by machine, sheet or wood shops (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Mechanical Engineering 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: Assemble or disassemble complex mechanical systems; Test machines, components, materials, or products to determine characteristics such as performance, strength, or response to stress; and Set up prototype and test apparatus and operate test controlling equipment to observe and record prototype test results. Together such tasks are about 47% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.17% went to this job's tasks, the 113th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 2 of its 30 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 7%. 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 Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 45% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 33% of the working time. Its index is 0.33 of 3. One example: Honda Alabama automated engine assembly line (robotic assembly stations) for "assemble or disassemble complex mechanical systems". 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 30 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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