Microsystems Engineers
Research, design, develop, or test microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices.
$122,930 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
of the working time. Estimate.
- 81%
- 0%
- 19%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h 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, 1%. Today's estimate: 1%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 31 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design or develop energy products using nanomaterials or nanoprocesses, such as micro-nano machining. | 9% | 3.3 work weeks4.2 work days to 2.3 work months | 0%Half by Dec 2029 | |
| Design or develop industrial air quality microsystems, such as carbon dioxide fixing devices. | 9% | 3.3 work weeks4.2 work days to 1.9 work months | 0%Half by Nov 2029 | |
| Research or develop emerging microelectromechanical (MEMS) systems to convert nontraditional energy sources into power, such as ambient energy harvesters that convert environmental vibrations into usable energy. | 9% | 1.2 work months1.7 work weeks to 3.1 work months | 0%Half by Jan 2030 | |
| Refine final microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) design to optimize design for target dimensions, physical tolerances, or processing constraints.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | 1%Half by Jul 2028 | |
| Design or develop sensors to reduce the energy or resource requirements to operate appliances, such as washing machines or dishwashing machines. | 6% | 1.7 work weeks2.5 work days to 1.5 work months | 0%Half by Jul 2029 | |
| Design sensors or switches that require little or no power to operate for environmental monitoring or industrial metering applications. | 6% | 1.7 work weeks2.5 work days to 1.5 work months | 0%Half by Jul 2029 | |
| Plan or schedule engineering research or development projects involving microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 2%Half by Feb 2028 | |
| Devise microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) production methods, such as integrated circuit fabrication, lithographic electroform modeling, or micromachining.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 work weeks1.7 work days to 3.3 work weeks | 0%Half by Feb 2029 | |
| Conduct harsh environmental testing, accelerated aging, device characterization, or field trials to validate devices, using inspection tools, testing protocols, peripheral instrumentation, or modeling and simulation software.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 2.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Investigate characteristics such as cost, performance, or process capability of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device designs, using simulation or modeling software.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 2%Half by Feb 2028 | |
| Manage new product introduction projects to ensure effective deployment of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices or applications.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 work weeks1.7 work days to 4.2 work weeks | 0%Half by Jun 2029 | |
| Conduct experimental or virtual studies to investigate characteristics and processing principles of potential microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.5 work weeks | 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.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.