Automotive and watercraft service attendants
SOC Code: 53-6031
Automotive and watercraft service attendants carries a 35% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $34,850 and -1.0% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 100,000 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 35% AI exposure, Automotive and watercraft service attendants sits 2 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 46% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
27/100
Automotive and watercraft service attendants, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $34,850
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -1.0%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) C- 35% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Automotive and watercraft service attendants in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Automotive and watercraft service attendants keeps an No credential bar (109 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Automotive and watercraft service attendants sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Automotive and watercraft service attendants sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
35% Lower than most lower than 54% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Automotive and watercraft service attendants vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Automotive and watercraft service attendants is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Automotive and watercraft service attendants's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 53-6031) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Automotive and watercraft service attendants be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Automotive and watercraft service attendants. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Collect cash payments from customers, and make change or charge purchases to customers' credit cards, providing customers with receipts.
- 2. Check tire pressure and levels of fuel, motor oil, transmission, radiator, battery, or other fluids, adding air or fluids as required.
- 3. Prepare daily reports of fuel, oil, and accessory sales.
- 4. Perform minor repairs, such as adjusting brakes, replacing spark plugs, or changing engine oil or filters.
- 5. Clean windshields.
- 6. Clean parking areas, offices, restrooms, or equipment, and remove trash.
- 7. Order stock, and price and shelve incoming goods.
- 8. Activate fuel pumps and fill fuel tanks of vehicles with gasoline or diesel fuel to specified levels.
- 9. Sell and install accessories, such as batteries, windshield wiper blades, fan belts, bulbs, or headlamps.
- 10. Grease and lubricate vehicles or specified units, such as springs, universal joints, or steering knuckles, using grease guns or spray lubricants.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Service Orientation
- Operation and Control
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
- Equipment Maintenance
- Repairing
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mechanical
- Sales and Marketing
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
- Administrative
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
- Chemistry
- Computers and Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Automotive and watercraft service attendants?
Automotive and watercraft service attendants has an AI exposure score of 35%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Automotive and watercraft service attendants?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Automotive and watercraft service attendants is projected to decline by 1.0% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 100,000 workers.
What skills are needed for Automotive and watercraft service attendants?
Key skills for Automotive and watercraft service attendants include Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, and others. Typical entry-level education is No formal educational credential.
How much do Automotive and watercraft service attendants earn?
The median annual wage for Automotive and watercraft service attendants is $34,850, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Automotive and watercraft service attendants?
The typical entry-level education for Automotive and watercraft service attendants is No formal educational credential. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Short-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Automotive and watercraft service attendants?
Automotive and watercraft service attendants roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Automotive and watercraft service attendants: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (35% here).
- Actuaries · AI exposure 35%
- Chemical technicians · AI exposure 35%
- Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders · AI exposure 35%
- Demonstrators and product promoters · AI exposure 35%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-1.0% here).
- Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers · growth -0.9%
- Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance · growth -0.9%
- Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers · growth -1.1%
- Nuclear engineers · growth -1.1%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 28 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Automotive and watercraft service attendants' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Automotive and watercraft service attendants side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).