Compare Occupations

	Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	Chemical Technicians	Painters, Construction and Maintenance	Upholsterers	Furniture Finishers
SUMMARY	67% High Risk	38% Low Risk	44% Moderate Risk	49% Moderate Risk	57% Moderate Risk	57% Moderate Risk
JOB SCORE	2.3/10	5.2/10	4.2/10	5.0/10	4.0/10	2.7/10
POLLING	52% (Moderate Risk, Based on 70 votes)	54% (Moderate Risk, Based on 29 votes)	51% (Moderate Risk, Based on 79 votes)	39% (Low Risk, Based on 93 votes)	28% (Low Risk, Based on 27 votes)	There hasn't been enough votes on this occupation yet
GROWTH by year 2034	1.4%	1.2%	3.7%	3.8%	-1.8%	-3.3%
WAGES	$40,860 or $19.64 per hour	$71,190 or $34.22 per hour	$57,790 or $27.78 per hour	$48,660 or $23.39 per hour	$46,190 or $22.20 per hour	$42,530 or $20.45 per hour
VOLUME as of 2024	8,470	685,140	55,640	224,180	20,990	14,230
SNOWFLAKE [?] 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.
DESCRIPTION	Paint, coat, or decorate articles, such as furniture, glass, plateware, pottery, jewelry, toys, books, or leather.	Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of production and operating workers, such as inspectors, precision workers, machine setters and operators, assemblers, fabricators, and plant and system operators. Excludes team or work leaders.	Conduct chemical and physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative and quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, and gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes, quality control, maintenance of environmental standards, and other work involving experimental, theoretical, or practical application of chemistry and related sciences.	Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency.	Make, repair, or replace upholstery for household furniture or transportation vehicles.	Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.

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Curious how automation and AI could affect your career? Our comparison tool lets you view two or more jobs side by side, helping you quickly spot differences in risk level, pay, growth, and popularity. All of this is based on a mix of academic research, user polling, and official labour data.

Automation Risk

Each occupation shows a probability of automation. A higher score means machines and algorithms are more likely to take over the role in the future.

Job Score

A quick summary of how a job performs overall — factoring in wages, growth, volume, and automation risk. It’s a handy way to see the bigger picture at a glance.

Polling Data

Thousands of visitors cast their votes on how “automatable” each job feels. These community insights are shown alongside the calculated probabilities.

Growth & Wages

See how fast each occupation is projected to grow and what people earn on average. High wages don’t always mean high security — automation risk still matters.

Volume of Workers

Explore how many people currently work in each occupation and in which year the data was recorded. Popularity can affect how disruptive automation will be for the wider economy.

The Snowflake Diagram

Each snowflake visualises the balance between automation risk, wages, growth, and job volume. Bigger and greener areas mean stronger performance in that dimension.

Use this comparison page to research careers, guide students, or simply explore the future of work. All data is regularly updated to keep the results relevant.