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Test characteristics of materials or products

Work activity · O*NET

Test characteristics of materials or products is an intermediate work activity in the O*NET database — a concrete task that recurs across many occupations , grouped under Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials. 53 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.

  • Test chemical or physical characteristics of materials or products
  • Test characteristics of materials or structures
  • Test quality of materials or finished products
  • Test materials, solutions, or samples
  • Test products for functionality or quality
  • Test fluids to identify contamination or other problems
  • Analyze test results

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 91.9% When Copilot attempts this activity, how often it finishes the task
Scope AI handles 22.1% How much of the activity AI carries within a conversation
Positive user feedback 68.5% Share of interactions users rated positively
How often AI is applied here 47th 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
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers 4
Materials Scientists 3
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians 3
Biomass Plant Technicians 2
Chemical Plant and System Operators 2
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2
Dietitians and Nutritionists 2
Environmental Compliance Inspectors 2
Fashion Designers 2
Food Science Technicians 2
Gas Plant Operators 2
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians 2
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2
Non-Destructive Testing Specialists 2
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers 2
Quality Control Analysts 2
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 2
Weatherization Installers and Technicians 2
Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians 1
Agricultural Technicians 1
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians 1
Automotive Engineering Technicians 1
Boilermakers 1
Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders 1
Chemists 1
Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians 1
Civil Engineers 1
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders 1
Conveyor Operators and Tenders 1
Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders 1
Electrical Engineers 1
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay 1
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer 1
Energy Auditors 1
Environmental Engineers 1
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers 1
First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators 1
Food Scientists and Technologists 1
Forensic Science Technicians 1
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders 1

Showing 40 of 53 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 37 occupations in occupations that perform Test characteristics of materials or products.. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Boilermakers Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Chemical Plant and System Operators Biomass Plant Technicians Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders Gas Plant Operators Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers Automotive Engineering Technicians Non-Destructive Testing Specialists Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians Electrical Engineers Quality Control Analysts Chemists Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Civil Engineers Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
Occupations that perform Test characteristics of materials or products., 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. "Test characteristics of materials or products." 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/test-characteristics-of-materials-or-products

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Test characteristics of materials or products. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/activities/test-characteristics-of-materials-or-products

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-test-characteristics-of-materials-or-products,
  title  = {Test characteristics of materials or products},
  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/test-characteristics-of-materials-or-products}
}

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