US dataswitch to UK
Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians
testing aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, conferring with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results and recording and interpreting test data on parts. If that's your week, this page is about your job.
The honest answer
AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: inspecting, diagnosing, maintaining and operating test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions is work software can't reach.
What shifts is recording and interpreting test data on parts. This page scores what today's tools actually do, not headlines.
Your week, as this page understands it
Operate, install, adjust, and maintain integrated computer/communications systems, consoles, simulators, and other data acquisition, test, and measurement instruments and equipment, which are used to launch, track, position, and evaluate air and space vehicles. May record and interpret test data. The job title says “aerospace engineering”, “operations technologists” or “technicians”: officially one job, several names. The real job is the part underneath: inspecting, diagnosing, maintaining and operating test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions. That is the thing someone has to be right about.
The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians is not one task. It is 11 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is inspecting, diagnosing, maintaining and operating test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions, and the ledger below shows exactly why.
Where the work sits, by task weight
- shifting to AI
- 0%
- changing shape
- 12%
- staying human
- 88%
These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.
Whole-job exposure score 15 out of 100 (11–20 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 11 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.
How we know this
What is measured: Every published task statement for aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.
How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.
Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.
Your job, task by task
These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.
- 2 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Shifting to AI
0 tasksTasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.
Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.
Changing shape
1 taskTasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.
Recording and interpreting test data on parts
The software now makes the first pass at test data, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 49 out of 100 (42–56 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Recording and reading test data is routine documented work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Staying human
10 tasksTasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.
Conferring with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results
The value here is that a specific person handles engineering personnel regarding details and stands behind it. That is earned, not computed.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Confer with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 26 out of 100 (19–33 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the value is that a specific person does it.
The rating behind it: Talking test methods and results through with engineers depends on people who know the program.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Identifying required data, data acquisition plans and testing parameters, setting up equipment to conform to these specifications
This work happens in the physical world: required data, data acquisition plans and testing parameters, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Identify required data, data acquisition plans, and test parameters, setting up equipment to conform to these specifications.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 22 out of 100 (15–29 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Planning what data to collect is desk work; setting the equipment up to collect it is not.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Inspecting, diagnosing, maintaining and operating test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions
This work happens in the physical world: test setups, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Inspect, diagnose, maintain, and operate test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Inspecting, maintaining and operating test rigs is hands-on work with the hardware.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Adjusting, repairing or replacing faulty components of test setups and equipment
This work happens in the physical world: faulty components of test setups, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Adjust, repair, or replace faulty components of test setups and equipment.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Repairing or replacing faulty parts of a test rig is done with tools in hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Testing aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions
This work happens in the physical world: aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Test aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, performing systems readiness tests and pre- and post-operational checkouts, to establish design or fabrication parameters.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 7 out of 100 (3–11 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Running readiness tests on real aircraft systems means being at the aircraft with the equipment.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Fabricating and installing parts and systems to be tested in test equipment
This work happens in the physical world: parts, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Building and fitting parts into test equipment is hands-on fabrication.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Operating and calibrating computer systems and devices to comply with test requirements and to perform data acquisition and analysis
This work happens in the physical world: computer systems, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Operate and calibrate computer systems and devices to comply with test requirements and to perform data acquisition and analysis.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 25 out of 100 (18–32 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Analyzing the data suits software well; calibrating the physical instruments does not.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Finishing vehicle instrumentation and deinstrumentation
This work happens in the physical world: vehicle instrumentation, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Finish vehicle instrumentation and deinstrumentation.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Fitting and removing instrumentation from a vehicle is physical work on the vehicle.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Designing electrical and mechanical systems for avionic instrumentation applications
The rules require a named, qualified person to answer for electrical and mechanical systems, and that person cannot be a piece of software.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Design electrical and mechanical systems for avionic instrumentation applications.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 18 out of 100 (11–25 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Software can sketch options, but safety-critical avionics design needs a qualified engineer’s judgment behind it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Show the other 1 task
Constructing and maintaining test facilities for aircraft parts and systems
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: test facilities, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Construct and maintain test facilities for aircraft parts and systems, according to specifications.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Building and maintaining a test facility is construction and maintenance work on site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
What this job pays, and how many people do it
- Median pay
- $82,890a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
- People doing this job
- 11,280in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.
Why this is shifting
The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: test data in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: recording and interpreting test data on parts. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where test setups get done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.
Your move
Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend
Start with what does not change: inspecting, diagnosing, maintaining and operating test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.
So, given all that: 0% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 12% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 88% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 11 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.
So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Recording and interpreting test data on parts is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.
This week: one thing
Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to test data, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.
- What you end up holding
- a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
- How long it takes
- ten minutes
If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether test setups are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.
Over the next 90 days
Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near recording and interpreting test data on parts. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.
Over the next 12 months
On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.
The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them
I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.
I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was avionics technicians: only about 9% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 15/100 here, with only 0% of the task list in the top band, and “record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.
How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.
3 moves I checked and rejected
These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.
Avionics Technicians
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using…, and their equivalent is to fabricate parts and test aids as required. Across both published task lists that is about 9% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 9% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms, and their equivalent is to operate machines to test functioning of parts or mechanisms. Across both published task lists that is about 8% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 8% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $47,810 against your $82,890, 42.3% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already inspect, diagnose, maintain, and operate test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions, and their equivalent is to examine and listen to equipment, read inspection reports, and confer with customers to…. Across both published task lists that is about 7% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 7% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $56,550 against your $82,890, 31.8% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
What I’d stop worrying about
A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.
The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 0% of its task weight, across 11 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like inspecting, diagnosing, maintaining and operating test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.
You are reading the United States figures
The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Engineering technicians is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.
Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match
The other groups this work is counted across:
In UK official statistics this job is counted as Engineering technicians and Electrical and electronics technicians. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.
Your route through this
Where to go next, and what it costs
Free, and complete
The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
Free
Why there is no community here
Collab365, who build this site, run paid Spaces for a small number of subjects, and none of them is built for this job. We are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.
So the free services listed on this page are the whole answer, and it is the same answer we would give a friend.
Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for aerospace engineering / operations technologists / technicians launches. Nothing else.
That did not look like an email address, so nothing was saved. Have another go below.
We could not save that. The fault is ours, not yours, and your address was not stored. Please try again later.
No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.
Questions people ask about this job
- Will AI replace Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians?
- Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 11 official task statements scored for Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians (United States, SOC 17-3021), 0% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 15 out of 100 (range 11–20, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
- Which tasks in “Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians” can AI already do?
- The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms” (49/100, partial); “Confer with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results” (26/100, low); “Operate and calibrate computer systems and devices to comply with test requirements and to perform data acquisition and analysis” (25/100, low). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
- Which tasks in “Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians” stay human?
- About 88% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Finish vehicle instrumentation and deinstrumentation” (0/100, minimal); “Fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments” (0/100, minimal); “Construct and maintain test facilities for aircraft parts and systems, according to specifications” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
- What should someone working in “Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians” do about AI?
- Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 0% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 88% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
- How is the AI exposure score for Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians calculated?
- Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 11 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.
Where these numbers come from
Worth knowing about these figures
- The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
- 2 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
- Task statements
- onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
- Task weights
- onet-db (im-rt)
- Scores
- Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
- Pay and employment
- bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))
Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.
The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.
The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.
Using these figures?
Cite this
Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.
Plain text
Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).
BibTeX
@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
title = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
author = {{Collab365}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
note = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.