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Machinists vs Industrial Machinery Mechanics

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Machinists and Industrial Machinery Mechanics on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Machinists Industrial Machinery Mechanics
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$56,150
$63,760
Employment · BLS OEWS
298,790
421,940
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
53rd pct
31st pct

At a glance

Dimension Machinists Industrial Machinery Mechanics
Median pay $56,150 $63,760
Employment 298,790 421,940
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (0.0%) Growing fast (+16.1%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 29,500 45,700
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Moderate · 53rd pct Low · 31st pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 28th pct · 18% of tasks 24th pct · 17% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Automation-leaning (38.1%) Automation-leaning (73.7%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity, Control Precision, Mathematics, Mechanical, Production and Processing, Operation and Control, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Selective Attention, Near Vision, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Information Ordering, Visualization, Multilimb Coordination, Design, Active Listening, Speaking, Coordination, Complex Problem Solving, Troubleshooting, Quality Control Analysis, Written Comprehension, Reaction Time, Mathematics, Equipment Maintenance.

Specific to Machinists

  • Oral Comprehension
  • Rate Control
  • Oral Expression
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Category Flexibility
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Speech Recognition

Specific to Industrial Machinery Mechanics

  • Repairing
  • English Language
  • Hearing Sensitivity
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Active Learning
  • Equipment Selection
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Static Strength

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Computer aided manufacturing CAM software , Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Enterprise resource planning ERP software , Industrial control software .

Specific to Machinists

Specific to Industrial Machinery Mechanics

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Machinists or Industrial Machinery Mechanics — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

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. "Machinists vs Industrial Machinery Mechanics." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/machinists-vs-industrial-machinery-mechanics

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Machinists vs Industrial Machinery Mechanics. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/machinists-vs-industrial-machinery-mechanics

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-machinists-vs-industrial-machinery-mechanics,
  title  = {Machinists vs Industrial Machinery Mechanics},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/machinists-vs-industrial-machinery-mechanics}
}

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