Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters
In short: today's best AI models could do about 0% 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 the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 100% of the time, stays with people.
Perform precision assembling or adjusting, within narrow tolerances, of timing devices such as digital clocks or timing devices with electrical or electronic components.
250 people do this job in the US. $62,620 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people40 h
Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 40 hours stay with people.
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.
- 0%
- 0%
- 100%
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, 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.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 17 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0085% to none (released February and March 2025); 0.0034% to 0.0055% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0085% | 549 of 708 | 2 of 17 |
| Released March 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0034% | 576 of 655 | 1 of 17 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0034% | 608 of 672 | 1 of 17 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0055% | 564 of 677 | 1 of 17 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 17 |
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 96% of this job's working time as physical work. For 78% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 78% in a purpose-built cell. 0.78 of 3, the 233rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 4%
- No robot shown 18%
- In a purpose-built cell 78%
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 . 17 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assemble and install components of timepieces to complete mechanisms, using watchmakers' tools and loupes.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Miyota Saku factory automated movement assembly line (Citizen Miyota Co., Ltd.) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 16% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Replace specified parts to repair malfunctioning timepieces, using watchmakers' tools, loupes, and holding fixtures.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Disassemble timepieces such as watches, clocks, and chronometers so that repairs can be made.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 10% | 50 min17 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Observe operation of timepiece parts and subassemblies to determine accuracy of movement, and to diagnose causes of defects.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Keysight i3070 Series 5i Inline In-Circuit Test System (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Adjust sizes or positioning of timepiece parts to achieve specified fit or function, using calipers, fixtures, and loupes.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Horosys Smart Micro Factory (Mecademic Meca500) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 38 min13 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean and lubricate timepiece parts and assemblies, using solvents, buff sticks, and oil.Done hourly or more by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Elma Elmasolvex RM automatic watch cleaning machine (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Test operation and fit of timepiece parts and subassemblies, using electronic testing equipment, tweezers, watchmakers' tools, and loupes.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Miyota Saku fully automated quartz movement line (Cal. 2035 series) (Citizen Watch / Miyota) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine and adjust hairspring assemblies to ensure horizontal and circular alignment of hairsprings, using calipers, loupes, and watchmakers' tools.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 42 min17 min to 1.4 h | Stays with people | |
| Bend parts, such as hairsprings, pallets, barrel covers, and bridges, to correct deficiencies in truing or endshake, using tweezers.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Horosys Smart Micro Factory with Mecademic Meca500 (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine components of timepieces such as watches, clocks, or chronometers for defects, using loupes or microscopes.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Optec Industries watch-component aesthetic inspection / sorting machines (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Bend inner coils of springs away from or toward collets, using tweezers, to locate centers of collets in centers of springs, and to correct errors resulting from faulty colleting of coils.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 29 min13 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Tighten or replace loose jewels, using watchmakers' tools.Done hourly or more by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, stocoPRESS servopress (Stoco SA, with Exlar GSM20 electric actuator) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 21 min8 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.
- Watch and Clock Repairers10% now, 10% by 2028
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers9% now, 9% by 2028
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers8% now, 8% by 2028
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic38% now, 38% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 1% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 1% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. 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 Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters 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: Review blueprints, sketches, or work orders to gather information about tasks to be completed (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Assemble and install components of timepieces to complete mechanisms, using watchmakers' tools and loupes; Replace specified parts to repair malfunctioning timepieces, using watchmakers' tools, loupes, and holding fixtures; and Disassemble timepieces such as watches, clocks, and chronometers so that repairs can be made. Together such tasks are about 100% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 4%. 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 Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 96% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 78% of the working time. Its index is 0.78 of 3. One example: Miyota Saku factory automated movement assembly line for "assemble and install components of timepieces to complete mechanisms, using watchmakers' tools and loupes". 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 17 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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