Also called: Autoworker, Production Associate
Builds cars and trucks on a moving assembly line, installing parts like seats, wiring, glass and engines.
Every 60 seconds a new truck body glides up to your station, and you have that minute to install the dashboard wiring and check it with a scanner. You rotate jobs during the shift to avoid strain. At major union plants, pay climbs steeply after a few years.
Estimate: at Detroit Three union plants, the 2023 UAW contract raises top pay to about $42/hour by 2028; non-union and supplier plants pay less.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma; hired and trained on the job.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing slowly. Depends on EV transition and plant investment.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Robots already weld and paint; more final-assembly tasks and humanoid robots are coming, so hiring will slow.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at auto and truck plants (often via temp agencies) or through a staffing agency; new hires are trained on the job
Classes: Auto shop or manufacturing CTE, Algebra.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-2092.
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.