Etchers and engravers
SOC Code: 51-9194
Etchers and engravers carries a 34% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $40,450 and -0.7% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 8,600 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 34% AI exposure, Etchers and engravers sits 3 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 43% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
32/100
Etchers and engravers, 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 $40,450
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -0.7%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) C 34% 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 Etchers and engravers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Etchers and engravers keeps an HS / some college bar (333 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 Etchers and engravers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Etchers and engravers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
34% Lower than most lower than 57% 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.
Etchers and engravers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Etchers and engravers 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
Etchers and engravers'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 51-9194) 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 Etchers and engravers 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 Etchers and engravers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Inspect etched work for depth of etching, uniformity, and defects, using calibrated microscopes, gauges, fingers, or magnifying lenses.
- 2. 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.
- 3. 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.
- 4. Prepare etching chemicals according to formulas, diluting acid with water to obtain solutions of specified concentration.
- 5. Use computer software to design patterns for engraving.
- 6. Examine sketches, diagrams, samples, blueprints, or photographs to decide how designs are to be etched, cut, or engraved onto workpieces.
- 7. Expose workpieces to acid to develop etch patterns such as designs, lettering, or figures.
- 8. Adjust depths and sizes of cuts by adjusting heights of worktables, or by adjusting machine-arm gauges.
- 9. Measure and compute dimensions of lettering, designs, or patterns to be engraved.
- 10. Neutralize workpieces to remove acid, wax, or enamel, using water, solvents, brushes, or specialized machines.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Operation and Control
- Quality Control Analysis
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Social Perceptiveness
Knowledge Areas
- Production and Processing
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mechanical
- Design
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Engineering and Technology
- English Language
- Administrative
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Etchers and engravers?
Etchers and engravers has an AI exposure score of 34%, 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 Etchers and engravers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Etchers and engravers is projected to decline by 0.7% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 8,600 workers.
What skills are needed for Etchers and engravers?
Key skills for Etchers and engravers include Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Etchers and engravers earn?
The median annual wage for Etchers and engravers is $40,450, 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 Etchers and engravers?
The typical entry-level education for Etchers and engravers is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Etchers and engravers?
Etchers and engravers 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 Etchers and engravers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (34% here).
- Animal control workers · AI exposure 34%
- Barbers · AI exposure 34%
- Bartenders · AI exposure 34%
- Coil winders, tapers, and finishers · AI exposure 34%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-0.7% here).
- Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers · growth -0.7%
- Database administrators · growth -0.7%
- Detectives and criminal investigators · growth -0.7%
- Waiters and waitresses · growth -0.7%
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 81 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Etchers and engravers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Etchers and engravers 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).