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Technicians and associate professionals · code 3115

Mechanical engineering technicians

Mechanical engineering technicians perform technical tasks to aid in mechanical engineering research and in the design, manufacture, assembly, construction, operation, maintenance and repair of machines, components and mechanical equipment. Tasks include - (a) providing technical assistance in research on and development of machines and mechanical installations, facilities and components, or testing prototypes; (b) designing and preparing layouts of machines and mechanical installations, facilities and components, according to the specifications given; (c) preparing detailed estimates of quantities and costs of materials and labour required for manufacture and installation, according to the specifications given; (d) monitoring technical aspects of manufacture, utilization, maintenance and repair of machines and mechanical installations, facilities and components to ensure satisfactory performance and compliance with specifications and regulations; (e) developing and monitoring the implementation of safety standards and procedures for marine survey work in relation to ships’ hulls, equipment and cargoes; (f) assembling and installing new and modified mechanical assemblies, components, machine tools and controls, and hydraulic power systems; (g) conducting tests of mechanical systems, collecting and analysing data, and assembling and installing mechanical assemblies in support of mechanical engineers; (h) ensuring that mechanical engineering designs and finished work are within specifications, regulations and contract provisions. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Aeronautics engineering technician - Marine engineering technician - Marine surveyor - Mechanical engineering estimator - Mechanical engineering technician Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Industrial machinery mechanic - 7233 - Mechanical machinery assembler - 8211

None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 207 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

  • mechanical engineering technician

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

73.6
Holds up
against AI Not Exposed

AI could take on 26.4 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 26.4 = 73.6

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

53
How hands-on
out of 100

From O*NET, averaged across 8 US jobs , so treat it as rough

47.4
How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 48 · hand skill 44.2 · cramped spaces 50 · averaged

Kind of hands-on work · hands-on 50+ · fiddly 39.4+ Hands-on, fiddly work in tight spaces

More fine handwork, and more time in cramped or awkward spots, than a typical hands-on job. That is exactly what machines find hardest: they do best in tidy, predictable places.

estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement

This number is probably too high

This score only looks at AI tools like chatbots. It doesn't look at robots at all — and this job rates 53 out of 100 for how hands-on it is, which is exactly where robots come in.

Have a look at the tasks below and judge for yourself. The ILO scored them low because a chatbot can't do them. Whether a machine with hands could is a different question, and we can't answer it yet.

The tasks behind the score

The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.

The task AI could do most of scores 41.5, while the average is 26.4. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.

  1. 41.5

    Preparing detailed estimates of quantities and costs of materials and labour required for manufacture and installation according to the specifications given

    Low
  2. 31.3

    Ensuring that mechanical engineering designs and finished work are within specifications, regulations and contract provisions.

    Low
  3. 28.5

    Designing and preparing layouts of machines and mechanical installations, facilities and components according to the specifications given

    Low
  4. 27.5

    Providing technical assistance in research on and development of machines and mechanical installations, facilities and components, or testing prototypes

    Low
  5. 26.3

    Monitoring technical aspects of manufacture, utilization, maintenance and repair of machines and mechanical installations, facilities and components to ensure satisfactory performance and compliance with specifications and regulations

    Low
  6. 25

    Developing and monitoring the implementation of safety standards and procedures for marine survey work in relation to ships' hulls, equipment and cargoes

    Low
  7. 17.8

    Conducting tests of mechanical systems, collecting and analysing data and assembling and installing mechanical assemblies in support of mechanical engineers

    Very Low
  8. 13.8

    Assembling and installing new and modified mechanical assemblies, components, machine tools and controls, and hydraulic power systems

    Very Low

8 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting

Helped, or replaced?

The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.

2 Australian jobs match this one, and we've simply averaged them. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.

AI helps you
66.5
AI does it for you
34

Helping wins by 32.5 points.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 2312, 3125

Compared with similar jobs

There are 82 jobs in the “Technicians and associate professionals” group, averaging 65.3. This one is above that.