Automotive Engineering Technicians

Low Risk
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Explore safer careers (4)

Lower estimated automation risk

Manufacturing Engineers
20% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
13.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies product design changes, process feasibility, equipment tests, quality, cycle time, and production support.

Mechanical Engineers
21% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
12.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Plausible advancement using product tests, performance data, design practicality, analysis, and engineering education.

Industrial Engineers
28% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
5.4 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses process testing, efficiency, design-for-manufacture, production data, quality, and workflow analysis.

Validation Engineers
25% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
8.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses test plans, durability data, protocols, deviations, performance criteria, documentation, and design changes.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.5/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

33% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Decision-making and problem solving

Very important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Active learning

Quite important
Why this matters
Keeps learning from new information and applying it to make better decisions now and in the future, especially when situations change.
Jobs that also use this strength

Education and training expertise

Quite important
Why this matters
Designing and delivering instruction—adapting lessons to different learners and measuring whether training actually works.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 13 votes

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Automotive Engineering Technicians will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Pay & outlook

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians was $68,730 ($33 per hour).

The median annual wage for Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians was 38.8% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians' job openings is expected to remain the same by 2034

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 37,450 people employed as 'Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 4 thousand people are employed as 'Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians'.

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Job description

Assist engineers in determining the practicality of proposed product design changes and plan and carry out tests on experimental test devices or equipment for performance, durability, or efficiency.

O*NET-SOC code: 17-3027.01