Also called: Machine Assembler, Custom Machine Builder, Assembly Technician (Automation)
Builds the one-of-a-kind automated machines, with robots, conveyors and sensors, that other factories buy to make their products.
You get a pile of machined parts, motors and drawings for a custom machine that will assemble medical syringes. Over weeks you bolt, align, pipe and wire it, then help debug it until it runs perfectly. Then it ships to a customer and you start the next one.
Estimated from BLS engine and machine assemblers.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. High school plus mechanical or mechatronics training; many learn on the job.
Ways in: Trade school, On-the-job training, 2-year college. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Mechatronics, Industrial Maintenance.
Growing about average. Steady demand from automation integrators.
Low risk for 10 years. Each custom machine is a one-off physical build; AI helps with drawings, but wiring and assembly stay hands-on.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at automation and machine-building shops or through a staffing agency; new hires are trained on the job
Classes: Shop or metals class, Electronics class, Geometry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-2031.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.