Mechanical engineers
SOC Code: 17-2141
Mechanical engineers carries a 35% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $102,320 and +9.1% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 293,100 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 35% AI exposure, Mechanical engineers 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
79/100
Mechanical engineers, 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 A $102,320
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth A+ +9.1%
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 Mechanical engineers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's bar with above-average BLS growth
Mechanical engineers sits in the Bachelor's entry band (178 of 832 occupations) and the Fast growth pace bucket (67 of 832). That pairing is rarer than the HS / some-college + declining cluster that dominates the BLS map - treat the degree bar as the binding gate while the growth line stays supportive.
Where Mechanical engineers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Mechanical engineers 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.
Mechanical engineers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Mechanical engineers 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
Mechanical engineers'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 17-2141) 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 Mechanical engineers 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 Mechanical engineers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Read and interpret blueprints, technical drawings, schematics, or computer-generated reports.
- 2. Conduct or direct system-level automotive testing.
- 3. Provide technical direction to other engineers or engineering support personnel.
- 4. Perform failure, variation, or root cause analyses.
- 5. Research, design, evaluate, install, operate, or maintain mechanical products, equipment, systems or processes to meet requirements.
- 6. Plan or conduct experiments to validate new materials, optimize startup protocols, reduce conditioning time, or examine contaminant tolerance.
- 7. Calibrate vehicle systems, including control algorithms or other software systems.
- 8. Specify system components or direct modification of products to ensure conformance with engineering design, performance specifications, or environmental regulations.
- 9. Provide technical consultation or direction related to the development or production of fuel cell systems.
- 10. Characterize component or fuel cell performances by generating operating maps, defining operating conditions, identifying design refinements, or executing durability assessments.
Key Skills Required
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Speaking
- Mathematics
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Listening
- Operations Analysis
- Systems Analysis
Knowledge Areas
- Engineering and Technology
- Physics
- Mathematics
- Mechanical
- Design
- Computers and Electronics
- Transportation
- English Language
- Production and Processing
- Administration and Management
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Mechanical engineers?
Mechanical engineers 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 Mechanical engineers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Mechanical engineers is projected to grow by 9.1% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 293,100 workers.
What skills are needed for Mechanical engineers?
Key skills for Mechanical engineers include Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Reading Comprehension, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Mechanical engineers earn?
The median annual wage for Mechanical engineers is $102,320, 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 Mechanical engineers?
The typical entry-level education for Mechanical engineers is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Mechanical engineers?
Mechanical engineers 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 Mechanical engineers: 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%
- Automotive and watercraft service attendants · AI exposure 35%
- Chemical technicians · AI exposure 35%
- Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders · AI exposure 35%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+9.1% here).
- Veterinary technologists and technicians · growth +9.1%
- Flight attendants · growth +9.2%
- Driver/sales workers · growth +8.8%
- Management analysts · growth +8.8%
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 18 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Mechanical engineers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Mechanical engineers 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).