{ "source": "Cooked Index — occupational AI risk register", "page": "https://cookedindex.com/jobs/engineering-technologists-and-technicians-except-drafters-all-other/", "methodology": "https://cookedindex.com/methodology", "notice": "Verdicts are re-examined as evidence accumulates. Re-fetch before relying on this; the page above always carries the current score.", "scored_at": "2026-08-11", "model": "claude-opus-5", "occupation": { "title": "Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other", "soc_code": "17-3029", "category": "Engineering", "us_employment": 59930, "median_annual_wage": 78350 }, "verdict": "EXPOSED", "risk_resistance": 41, "contested": false, "near_boundary": false, "dimensions": { "task_resistance": 11, "embodiment": 13, "liability_shield": 3, "trust_premium": 6, "judgment_accountability": 8 }, "reasoning": { "task_resistance": "An 11 reflects the split shift: LabVIEW/TestStand sequences, automated DAQ, and LLM-drafted test reports have already eaten the data reduction, spec-compliance checking, and write-up portions of the day, while fabricating a fixture, routing thermocouples on a hot prototype, and diagnosing intermittent connector faults still need a person on the bench — which is why it sits at the top of the mixed band rather than in the resistant one.", "embodiment": "At 13 the work happens where the hardware is — climbing over a test stand, pulling cable in an unfinished plant, taking field readings on equipment you did not install and cannot fully control — but a real fraction of hours is still spent at a desk reducing data and updating drawings, which keeps this off the 17-plus tier occupied by field service and rigging trades.", "liability_shield": "A 3 is the honest floor: nothing in this role requires a PE or state licence, employer-side credentials like ASNT NDT Level II or an ETA cert are asked for by some shops and waived by others, and the seal on the test report belongs to the supervising engineer — the technician's initials on a data sheet carry no statutory weight.", "trust_premium": "A 6 recognises the value of being the person the design engineers call because you know that rig's quirks and which channel drifts, but the deliverable is a dataset and a test report that any competent tech could hand over — no customer chooses your employer because of you.", "judgment_accountability": "An 8 covers the calls you actually make unsupervised — deciding a run is invalid, changing instrumentation placement when the plan does not fit the part, flagging an out-of-family reading instead of logging it — all inside a written test procedure that someone else approved and can override, so the ambiguous high-stakes decision never lands on your desk." }, "rationale": "The modal worker in this catch-all category builds and instruments test setups, runs bench and field tests, calibrates equipment, collects data, and writes it up for the engineers who sign off. The hands-on half — wiring a test rig, mounting sensors, troubleshooting why a prototype fails on the floor — is genuinely hard to automate; the documentation, data reduction, spec-checking, and report-writing half is already being absorbed by AI and automated test software. No license stands between this role and automation, and the engineer, not the technician, owns the consequential call.", "outlook": "Headcount for the report-and-data-reduction side shrinks over the next decade, while techs who physically build, instrument, and commission hardware stay in demand and get harder to hire.", "what_would_raise_it": { "levers": [ { "dimension": "task_resistance", "change": "Task-mix shift: as automated test software and LLM report generation absorb data reduction, spec-checking and write-up, what remains is rig fabrication, sensor mounting, fixture design, and diagnosing why a prototype fails on the floor — work that is inherently non-repeating and instrument-specific. This raises the score only for technicians whose employers keep them on the bench rather than shrinking headcount to match the reduced documentation load.", "plausibility": "already happening", "would_add": 3 }, { "dimension": "embodiment", "change": "Migration of the role toward field test and commissioning work — grid interconnection witness testing, EV battery pack abuse testing, aircraft ground vibration testing — where the environment is uncontrolled and the instrumentation must be installed and debugged on unfamiliar hardware. FAA and IEEE/UL test protocols already require on-site instrumented runs by qualified personnel.", "plausibility": "plausible", "would_add": 3 }, { "dimension": "liability_shield", "change": "Certification schemes that name the technician, not just the supervising engineer, on the test record: ASNT NDT Level II/III certification is already required by name on radiographic and ultrasonic inspection reports under ASME BPVC and API 510/570, and NETA ATS acceptance testing requires a certified technician's signature. If more test categories (battery safety per UL 9540A, EMC per FCC/CISPR accredited labs under ISO/IEC 17025 personnel-competence clauses) are pulled into named-signatory regimes, an AI-generated result becomes unusable without a certified human attesting to setup and execution.", "plausibility": "plausible", "would_add": 6 }, { "dimension": "judgment_accountability", "change": "A17025-style requirement that the person executing the test declare measurement uncertainty and whether the setup was valid for the stated conditions — i.e., owning the 'this data is trustworthy' call rather than handing raw numbers to an engineer. Accreditation bodies (A2LA, ANAB) already audit personnel competence records; tightening those clauses so the technician's judgment on setup validity is the auditable artifact moves the call to the bench.", "plausibility": "plausible", "would_add": 4 }, { "dimension": "trust_premium", "change": "Narrow route only: defense and nuclear supply chains where NAVSEA/NQA-1 or ITAR programs require cleared, badged personnel to perform and witness tests on-site. This is a security and provenance premium on a specific human body, not a general preference for human work.", "plausibility": "plausible", "would_add": 2 } ], "ceiling_note": "The catch-all SOC code is the binding constraint: the certification-signatory route (ASNT, NETA, 17025) genuinely exists but only covers specific test disciplines, so it lifts a subset of these 60k workers, not the category. For general-purpose R&D bench technicians there is no licensing body positioned to claim signature authority and no buyer who cares whether a human mounted the accelerometer. Realistic ceiling for the modal worker is around the mid-50s; the certified NDT or high-voltage acceptance-testing subset can reach higher." }, "adjudication": null, "employment_history": { "points": [ { "y": 2021, "emp": 73600, "wage": 61950 }, { "y": 2022, "emp": 70250, "wage": 65520 }, { "y": 2023, "emp": 66200, "wage": 73500 }, { "y": 2024, "emp": 64410, "wage": 77390 }, { "y": 2025, "emp": 59930, "wage": 78350 } ], "from": 2021, "to": 2025, "change_pct": -18.6, "comparable_from": 2021, "spans_soc_revision": false }, "pivots": [ { "slug": "electro-mechanical-and-mechatronics-technologists-and-technicians", "title": "Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians", "verdict": "EXPOSED", "risk_resistance": 55, "median_wage": 73900, "overlap": 88, "skills_to_close": [ "Repairing", "Installation", "Programming", "Troubleshooting" ] }, { "slug": "electrical-and-electronics-repairers-commercial-and-industrial-equipment", "title": "Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment", "verdict": "SAFE", "risk_resistance": 67, "median_wage": 74090, "overlap": 86, "skills_to_close": [ "Repairing", "Installation", "Equipment Maintenance", "Troubleshooting" ] }, { "slug": "avionics-technicians", "title": "Avionics Technicians", "verdict": "SAFE", "risk_resistance": 71, "median_wage": 82280, "overlap": 83, "skills_to_close": [ "Repairing", "Equipment Maintenance", "Troubleshooting", "Installation" ] } ], "license": "https://cookedindex.com/terms" }