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Will AI Replace Maintenance and Repair Workers? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places maintenance and repair workers in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +4.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 148,700 openings a year.

Short answer

Very unlikely. BLS rates maintenance and repair workers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do.

BLS AI exposure
LowBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
64/100Higher than 92% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
+4.2%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
148,700BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed maintenance and repair workers are to AI

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Maintenance and Repair Workers land in the low category: among the occupations least exposed to current AI.

Where this job sits on the BLS scale

786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each

  1. Low · this job203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate194 occupations · 25%
  3. High190 occupations · 24%
  4. Very high199 occupations · 25%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.

  1. Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
  2. BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
  3. The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.

Inside the work

What AI can and cannot do in this job

O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.

What holds up

Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work

  • Repairing and maintaining mechanical equipment4.3/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Face-to-face discussions4.8/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Handling and moving objects4.2/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials4.5/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

  • Processing information3.6/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Documenting/recording information3.7/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Getting information4.3/5
    O*NET work activity, importance
  • Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards4.0/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

The tasks O*NET lists for maintenance and repair workers

  • Repair machines, equipment, or structures, using tools such as hammers, hoists, saws, drills, wrenches, or equipment such as precision measuring instruments or electrical or electronic testing devices.
  • Adjust functional parts of devices or control instruments, using hand tools, levels, plumb bobs, or straightedges.
  • Inspect, operate, or test machinery or equipment to diagnose machine malfunctions.
  • Dismantle machines, equipment, or devices to access and remove defective parts, using hoists, cranes, hand tools, or power tools.
  • Plan and lay out repair work, using diagrams, drawings, blueprints, maintenance manuals, or schematic diagrams.
  • Assemble, install, or repair wiring, electrical or electronic components, pipe systems, plumbing, machinery, or equipment.

O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.

The jobs

Will there still be jobs?

Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +4.2% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 148,700 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 1,529,700 people work in the job today, at a median of $49,590 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full maintenance and repair worker, general profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers that are also low-exposure

Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a low exposure category.

  1. Electrical Power-Line Installer and Repairer

    Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

    Median pay
    $95,320median a year
    Growth
    +10.3%
    Openings / yr
    10,900
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    76/100
    resilience

    Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems.

  2. Mechanical Door Repairer

    Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

    Median pay
    $55,720median a year
    Growth
    +6.4%
    Openings / yr
    2,100
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    73/100
    resilience

    Install, service, or repair automatic door mechanisms and hydraulic doors.

  3. Millwright

    Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

    Median pay
    $65,700median a year
    Growth
    +0.9%
    Openings / yr
    3,200
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    67/100
    resilience

    Install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to layout plans, blueprints, or other drawings.

  4. Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines

    Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

    Median pay
    $65,510median a year
    Growth
    +6.7%
    Openings / yr
    15,000
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    66/100
    resilience

    Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul mobile mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment, such as cranes, bulldozers, graders, and conveyors, used in construction, logging, and mining.

  5. Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Worker

    Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

    Median pay
    $39,630median a year
    Growth
    +5.3%
    Openings / yr
    13,600
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    65/100
    resilience

    Help installation, maintenance, and repair workers in maintenance, parts replacement, and repair of vehicles, industrial machinery, and electrical and electronic equipment.

  6. Motorboat Mechanic and Service Technician

    Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

    Median pay
    $57,550median a year
    Growth
    +4.9%
    Openings / yr
    2,600
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    65/100
    resilience

    Repair and adjust electrical and mechanical equipment of inboard or inboard-outboard boat engines.

Will AI replace linemen?Will AI replace mobile heavy equipment mechanics?

Questions

Will AI Replace Maintenance and Repair Workers? FAQ

Will AI replace maintenance and repair workers?

Very unlikely. BLS rates maintenance and repair workers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +4.2% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 148,700 openings a year.

How exposed are maintenance and repair workers to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Maintenance and Repair Workers are in the low category, alongside 202 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

What parts of a maintenance and repair worker, general's job can AI do?

In O*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are processing information, documenting/recording information and getting information. The parts that hold up best are repairing and maintaining mechanical equipment, face-to-face discussions and handling and moving objects. These come from O*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

Is being a maintenance and repair worker, general a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, maintenance and repair workers score 64 out of 100, higher than 92% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $49,590 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

What careers similar to maintenance and repair workers are less exposed to AI?

Electrical Power-Line Installer and Repairer (low exposure, $95,320 median), Mechanical Door Repairer (low exposure, $55,720 median), Millwright (low exposure, $65,700 median), Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanic, Except Engines (low exposure, $65,510 median). Each is also in the low category, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.

The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.