Compare Occupations

	Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing	Industrial Machinery Mechanics	Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	Patternmakers, Wood	Model Makers, Wood
SUMMARY	74% High Risk	41% Moderate Risk	53% Moderate Risk	38% Low Risk	66% High Risk	64% High Risk
JOB SCORE	1.6/10	6.4/10	3.4/10	5.2/10	2.7/10	2.7/10
POLLING	65% (High Risk, Based on 39 votes)	36% (Low Risk, Based on 66 votes)	46% (Moderate Risk, Based on 45 votes)	54% (Moderate Risk, Based on 29 votes)	There hasn't been enough votes on this occupation yet	55% (Moderate Risk, Based on 21 votes)
GROWTH by year 2034	-1.8%	16.1%	-1.6%	1.2%	-5.0%	-4.5%
WAGES	$40,440 or $19.44 per hour	$63,760 or $30.65 per hour	$46,020 or $22.12 per hour	$71,190 or $34.22 per hour	$52,520 or $25.25 per hour	$51,850 or $24.93 per hour
VOLUME as of 2024	63,350	421,940	79,540	685,140	180	360
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	Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment.	Repair, install, adjust, or maintain industrial production and processing machinery or refinery and pipeline distribution systems. May also install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to plans.	Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products.	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.	Plan, lay out, and construct wooden unit or sectional patterns used in forming sand molds for castings.	Construct full-size and scale wooden precision models of products. Includes wood jig builders and loft workers.

Compare Occupations Side by Side

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.