Compare Occupations

	Automotive Engineering Technicians	Manufacturing Engineers	Mechanical Engineers	Industrial Engineers	Validation Engineers
SUMMARY	33% Low Risk	20% Low Risk	21% Low Risk	28% Low Risk	25% Low Risk
JOB SCORE	4.5/10	8.0/10	7.7/10	7.3/10	6.7/10
POLLING	There hasn't been enough votes on this occupation yet	38% (Low Risk, Based on 90 votes)	37% (Low Risk, Based on 2,681 votes)	38% (Low Risk, Based on 427 votes)	51% (Moderate Risk, Based on 20 votes)
GROWTH by year 2034	0.0%	11.0%	9.1%	11.0%	11.0%
WAGES	$68,730 or $33.04 per hour	$101,140 or $48.62 per hour	$102,320 or $49.19 per hour	$101,140 or $48.62 per hour	$101,140 or $48.62 per hour
VOLUME as of 2024	37,450	350,230	286,760	350,230	350,230
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	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.	Design, integrate, or improve manufacturing systems or related processes. May work with commercial or industrial designers to refine product designs to increase producibility and decrease costs.	Perform engineering duties in planning and designing tools, engines, machines, and other mechanically functioning equipment. Oversee installation, operation, maintenance, and repair of equipment such as centralized heat, gas, water, and steam systems.	Design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and production coordination.	Design or plan protocols for equipment or processes to produce products meeting internal and external purity, safety, and quality requirements.

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.