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Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators vs Industrial Machinery Mechanics

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators 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.”

Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators Industrial Machinery Mechanics
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$75,190
$63,760
Employment · BLS OEWS
30,780
421,940
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
28th pct
31st pct

At a glance

Dimension Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators Industrial Machinery Mechanics
Median pay $75,190 $63,760
Employment 30,780 421,940
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+2.2%) Growing fast (+16.1%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 3,800 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 Low · 28th pct Low · 31st pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 32nd pct · 20% of tasks 24th pct · 17% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — 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: Mechanical, Operations Monitoring, Near Vision, Problem Sensitivity, Operation and Control, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting, Repairing, Deductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Engineering and Technology, Active Learning, Monitoring, Coordination, Complex Problem Solving, Quality Control Analysis, Judgment and Decision Making, Written Comprehension, Selective Attention, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity, Control Precision, Multilimb Coordination, Reaction Time, Auditory Attention, English Language, Mathematics.

Specific to Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators

  • Oral Comprehension
  • Oral Expression
  • Chemistry
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Physics
  • Reading Comprehension

Specific to Industrial Machinery Mechanics

  • Hearing Sensitivity
  • Production and Processing
  • Design
  • Visualization
  • Equipment Selection
  • Static Strength
  • Trunk Strength
  • Extent Flexibility

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: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Enterprise resource planning ERP software , Facilities management software , Data base user interface and query software , Internet browser software .

Specific to Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators

Specific to Industrial Machinery Mechanics

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators 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. "Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators 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/stationary-engineers-and-boiler-operators-vs-industrial-machinery-mechanics

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators vs Industrial Machinery Mechanics. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/stationary-engineers-and-boiler-operators-vs-industrial-machinery-mechanics

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-stationary-engineers-and-boiler-operators-vs-industrial-machinery-mechanics,
  title  = {Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators 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/stationary-engineers-and-boiler-operators-vs-industrial-machinery-mechanics}
}

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