← Risk register SOC 51-2021 · reviewed 2026-08-11

Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers

12,840 US workers · median $48,220/yr · Production

COOKED

The core work — winding wire onto forms, taping and insulating coils, dipping and lacing leads, checking turns counts and continuity — is repetitive bench work already handled by CNC winding machines and automated taping lines in high-volume plants. What keeps the remaining 12,840 jobs alive is low-volume, large, or odd-geometry work (traction motors, custom transformers, motor rewind shops) where fixturing an automated line isn't worth it, plus hand finishing and machine tending. That's a shrinking niche, and the pressure comes from mechanical automation and offshoring rather than language AI.

10-year outlook: Employment keeps sliding as high-volume winding stays automated or offshored; the durable work is custom winding and on-site motor rewind repair.

Score — 28/100 resistance

Five dimensions, 0–20 each, summed. Higher means more protected. The arithmetic is shown so you can check it: 10 + 11 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 28.

Task resistance 10/20

Mixed — a routine tier and a judgment tier. A 10 reflects the split: programmable winding machines already handle turns counting, wire tensioning, and layer indexing on standard bobbins, but hand-taping a 4,000 lb traction motor stator, lacing leads in a rewind shop, and stripping and re-forming burnt field coils still need a person at the bench, which is why this sits mid-band rather than down at 4.

Embodiment 11/20

Some physical or field component. An 11 is right because the work is physical — feeding wire, dipping coils in varnish, working around hot ovens and solvent fumes, lifting stator frames — but it happens at a fixed bench or machine station inside a plant with jigs and fixtures, not out in an uncontrolled field environment like a lineworker or millwright.

Liability shield 1/20

No licence, no signature requirement. A 1 is accurate: nothing you do requires a state licence or certification card, the coil ships under the manufacturer's UL or IEEE insulation-class listing, and if a winding fails hipot or shorts in service it's the plant's QC and engineering signatures that answer for it, not yours.

Trust premium 2/20

Anonymous artifact production. A 2 fits because the customer buys a motor or transformer and never learns who wound it; a coil that passes continuity, turns ratio, and surge comparison tests is interchangeable with one wound by any other shop, and purchasing decisions turn on price and lead time.

Judgment & accountability 4/20

Executes defined procedures on defined inputs. A 4 acknowledges the real calls you make — spotting a nicked enamel before it becomes a turn-to-turn short, deciding a varnish dip needs a second pass, judging tension on fine wire — but these are read against a winding sheet, print, and spec sheet that already fix turns, wire gauge, and insulation class, with a supervisor or engineer owning any deviation.

Confidence: high · reviewed 2026-08-11 · how scoring works

Tasks already automatable

What survives

Active moats: embodiment

How to future-proof this job

Escape hatches — adjacent fields with better verdicts

Computed from U.S. Dept. of Labor O*NET skill profiles: high overlap with what you already do, materially higher resistance score.

Sheet Metal Workers SAFE · 67/100 · you already have ~53% of the skill profile

Skills to close: Installation, Repairing, Equipment Maintenance, Mathematics

Maintenance Workers, Machinery EXPOSED · 63/100 · you already have ~51% of the skill profile

Skills to close: Repairing, Equipment Maintenance, Installation, Troubleshooting

Field report — do you do this job?

Has AI actually changed your work?

Self-reported and unverified — a sentiment signal, not a survey. One response per person per occupation; you can change your answer.

From people who do this job

Nobody has filed one yet. If you do this work, you know things the rubric can't see.

What has actually changed in your work?

Concrete beats general: a tool that arrived, a task that moved, a headcount decision you watched happen. Don't include anything that identifies you or your employer if that would put you at risk.