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Select materials or equipment for operations or projects

Work activity · O*NET

Select materials or equipment for operations or projects is an intermediate work activity in the O*NET database — a concrete task that recurs across many occupations , grouped under Making Decisions and Solving Problems. 142 occupations report doing it as part of their work.

What it involves

The most common detailed activities O*NET records under this category, ranked by how many occupation tasks map to each.

  • Select educational materials or equipment
  • Select production equipment according to product specifications
  • Select production input materials
  • Select construction materials
  • Select materials or props
  • Select tools, equipment, or technologies for use in operations or projects
  • Select resources needed to accomplish tasks
  • Select construction equipment

How AI is applied to this activity

Microsoft's "Working with AI" study mapped real Bing Copilot conversations to O*NET work activities. The figures below are their measurements for this activity — they describe how AI is used today in one assistant's data, not a forecast that the activity will be automated.

AI completes it successfully 94.2% When Copilot attempts this activity, how often it finishes the task
Scope AI handles 25.4% How much of the activity AI carries within a conversation
Positive user feedback 72.7% Share of interactions users rated positively
How often AI is applied here 85th pct Percentile across all measured activities by how often AI performs them

Source: Microsoft "Working with AI" (working-with-ai). A high completion rate means AI can assist the activity in isolation — it does not mean an occupation that performs it is being automated, since every job blends many activities.

Detailed work activities

The more granular units of work O*NET groups under this activity, ordered by how many occupations perform them.

Occupations that perform this activity

Ranked by how many of the occupation's tasks map to this activity.

Occupation Tasks
Disc Jockeys, Except Radio 3
Solar Photovoltaic Installers 3
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas 2
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers 2
Helpers--Carpenters 2
Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians 2
Insulation Workers, Mechanical 2
Mechatronics Engineers 2
Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers 2
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 2
Photographers 2
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials 2
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood 2
Set and Exhibit Designers 2
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers 2
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing 2
Administrative Services Managers 1
Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors 1
Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Art Therapists 1
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists 1
Business Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film 1
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School 1
Carpenters 1
Cartographers and Photogrammetrists 1
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary 1
Coaches and Scouts 1
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers 1
Communications Teachers, Postsecondary 1

Showing 40 of 142 occupations.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay AI task-overlap (horizontal) versus median pay (vertical), each as a percentile across all scored occupations, for 39 occupations in occupations that perform Select materials or equipment for operations or projects.. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Helpers--Carpenters Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers Carpenters Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Insulation Workers, Mechanical Art Therapists Administrative Services Managers Coaches and Scouts Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film Photographers Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors Mechatronics Engineers Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary Communications Teachers, Postsecondary AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
Occupations that perform Select materials or equipment for operations or projects., by AI task-overlap and median pay

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Select materials or equipment for operations or projects." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/activities/select-materials-or-equipment-for-operations-or-projects

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Select materials or equipment for operations or projects. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activities/select-materials-or-equipment-for-operations-or-projects

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-select-materials-or-equipment-for-operations-or-projects,
  title  = {Select materials or equipment for operations or projects},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/activities/select-materials-or-equipment-for-operations-or-projects}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.