# Etchers and Engravers

> Engrave or etch metal, wood, rubber, or other materials. Includes such workers as etcher-circuit processors, pantograph engravers, and silk screen etchers.

- **SOC code:** 51-9194.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9194-00
- **Also known as:** Chemical Engraver, Engraver, Etcher, Photo Engraver, Acid Etch Operator, Award Machine Operator, Electronic Engraver, Laser Engraver
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Inspect etched work for depth of etching, uniformity, and defects, using calibrated microscopes, gauges, fingers, or magnifying lenses.
- Prepare workpieces for etching or engraving by cutting, sanding, cleaning, polishing, or treating them with wax, acid resist, lime, etching powder, or light-sensitive enamel.
- Engrave and print patterns, designs, etchings, trademarks, or lettering onto flat or curved surfaces of a wide variety of metal, glass, plastic, or paper items, using hand tools or hand-held power tools.
- Prepare etching chemicals according to formulas, diluting acid with water to obtain solutions of specified concentration.
- Use computer software to design patterns for engraving.
- Examine sketches, diagrams, samples, blueprints, or photographs to decide how designs are to be etched, cut, or engraved onto workpieces.
- Expose workpieces to acid to develop etch patterns such as designs, lettering, or figures.
- Adjust depths and sizes of cuts by adjusting heights of worktables, or by adjusting machine-arm gauges.
- Measure and compute dimensions of lettering, designs, or patterns to be engraved.
- Neutralize workpieces to remove acid, wax, or enamel, using water, solvents, brushes, or specialized machines.
- Examine engraving for quality of cut, burrs, rough spots, and irregular or incomplete engraving.
- Transfer image to workpiece, using contact printer, pantograph stylus, silkscreen printing device, or stamp pad.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Production and Processing _(knowledge)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Arm-Hand Steadiness _(ability)_
- Control Precision _(ability)_
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Selective Attention _(ability)_
- Manual Dexterity _(ability)_
- Finger Dexterity _(ability)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Finger Dexterity _(Common Skill)_
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Windows _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Adobe Illustrator _(Specialized Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Illustrator _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing CAD/CAM engraving software
- Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
- Delcam ArtCAM Express
- Gravograph GravoStyle
- Western Engravers Supply Vision EXPERT

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 26th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 30th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 30th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 23rd percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 97th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -0.7% growth (Declining); 0.9k annual openings; 8.6k → 8.6k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $40,450; 8,390 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9194-00_