Mechanical engineers
In the ILO's assessment few of the job's tasks can be done by generative AI, or the scores are too spread out to reach gradient 1 — generative AI does not meaningfully take over the core of the work.
Exposure is not job loss: it shows how much of the work generative AI could do today. Whether that turns into transformation, productivity gains or cuts depends on employers, regulation — and on you.
0 = today’s generative AI cannot perform any of the job’s tasks, 100 = it could do all of them fully. The pale band is the spread across tasks.
Work out your own score ↓What can you do?
The AI analysis for this occupation is still being prepared — the background process covers a few occupations every day.
Task by task
The ILO scored every task of the occupation separately, as the average of two AI models (GPT-4o and Gemini). The pale band is the range between the two models' scores, the dot the ILO's final score (for a few tasks expert review placed it outside the band).
- Advising on and designing non-electrical parts of apparatus or products such as word processors, computers, precision instruments, cameras and projectors44
- Advising on and designing airframes, undercarriages and other equipment for aircraft as well as suspension systems, brakes, vehicle bodies and other components of road vehicles36
- Advising on and designing machinery and tools for manufacturing, mining, construction, agricultural, and other industrial purposes34
- Advising on and designing: hulls, superstructures and propulsion systems of ships; mechanical plant and equipment for the release, control and utilization of energy; heating, ventilation and refrigeration systems, steering gear, pumps and other mechanical equipment34
- Establishing control standards and procedures to ensure efficient functioning and safety of machines, machinery, tools, motors, engines, industrial plant, equipment, or systems30
- Ensuring that equipment, operation and maintenance comply with design specifications and safety standards.28
- Advising on and designing steam, internal combustion and other non-electric motors and engines used for propulsion of railway locomotives, road vehicles or aircraft, or for driving industrial or other machinery22
How much does it affect you?
Every job is different: mark which of these tasks you do and how much, and we'll compute your own, time-weighted score.
For each task: I don't do it · sometimes · most of my job.
- Advising on and designing non-electrical parts of apparatus or products such as word processors, computers, precision instruments, cameras and projectors(44)
- Advising on and designing airframes, undercarriages and other equipment for aircraft as well as suspension systems, brakes, vehicle bodies and other components of road vehicles(36)
- Advising on and designing machinery and tools for manufacturing, mining, construction, agricultural, and other industrial purposes(34)
- Advising on and designing: hulls, superstructures and propulsion systems of ships; mechanical plant and equipment for the release, control and utilization of energy; heating, ventilation and refrigeration systems, steering gear, pumps and other mechanical equipment(34)
- Establishing control standards and procedures to ensure efficient functioning and safety of machines, machinery, tools, motors, engines, industrial plant, equipment, or systems(30)
- Ensuring that equipment, operation and maintenance comply with design specifications and safety standards.(28)
- Advising on and designing steam, internal combustion and other non-electric motors and engines used for propulsion of railway locomotives, road vehicles or aircraft, or for driving industrial or other machinery(22)
You are exactly at the occupation average. (The occupation's score: 32.)
About 0% of your working time goes to highly exposed tasks (score ≥ 50).
- • Advising on and designing non-electrical parts of apparatus or products such as word processors, computers, precision instruments, cameras and projectors
- • Advising on and designing airframes, undercarriages and other equipment for aircraft as well as suspension systems, brakes, vehicle bodies and other components of road vehicles
- • Advising on and designing steam, internal combustion and other non-electric motors and engines used for propulsion of railway locomotives, road vehicles or aircraft, or for driving industrial or other machinery
- • Ensuring that equipment, operation and maintenance comply with design specifications and safety standards.
An estimate from the ILO task scores. Everything is computed in your browser — nothing is sent or stored.
How many people work in this occupational group?
Share of the Science and engineering professionals group in total employment, by country (Eurostat, ISCO 2-digit — 4-digit breakdowns are not public by country).
Table view
| Country | Science and engineering professionals |
|---|---|
| Finland | 6.3% · 163 thousand · 2025 |
| Luxembourg | 5.3% · 17 thousand · 2025 |
| Ireland | 4.8% · 135 thousand · 2025 |
| France | 4.7% · 1,380 thousand · 2025 |
| Germany | 4.5% · 1,920 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovenia | 4.5% · 45 thousand · 2025 |
| Lithuania | 4.4% · 65 thousand · 2025 |
| Netherlands | 4.3% · 428 thousand · 2025 |
| Switzerland | 4.3% · 208 thousand · 2025 |
| Sweden | 4.1% · 218 thousand · 2025 |
| Cyprus | 4.0% · 20 thousand · 2025 |
| Iceland | 3.9% · 9 thousand · 2025 |
| Portugal | 3.9% · 207 thousand · 2025 |
| Denmark | 3.9% · 121 thousand · 2025 |
| Greece | 3.9% · 169 thousand · 2025 |
| Belgium | 3.9% · 199 thousand · 2025 |
| Romania | 3.6% · 277 thousand · 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 3.5% · 1,203 thousand · 2025 |
| Hungary | 3.5% · 163 thousand · 2025 |
| Poland | 3.5% · 598 thousand · 2025 |
| Spain | 3.4% · 757 thousand · 2025 |
| Czechia | 3.4% · 176 thousand · 2025 |
| Croatia | 3.3% · 56 thousand · 2025 |
| Austria | 3.2% · 142 thousand · 2025 |
| Norway | 3.1% · 91 thousand · 2025 |
| Malta | 3.1% · 10 thousand · 2025 |
| Estonia | 3.0% · 21 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovakia | 3.0% · 78 thousand · 2025 |
| Latvia | 2.9% · 25 thousand · 2025 |
| Bulgaria | 2.8% · 81 thousand · 2025 |
| Italy | 2.7% · 659 thousand · 2025 |
What do they earn?
Mean gross monthly earnings in the major occupational group (Professionals). Eurostat's earnings survey only publishes pay by occupation at 1 digit, so this is the job's broader group. Enterprises with 10+ employees, 2022.
By country, at purchasing power parity (PPS/month), so countries with different price levels can be compared.
- Switzerland6,389
- Luxembourg5,274
- Ireland4,873
- Germany4,807
- Belgium4,799
- Denmark4,446
- Norway4,237
- Austria4,099
- Netherlands4,031
- Iceland3,875
- EU273,850
- France3,791
- Finland3,769
- Romania3,559
- Sweden3,416
- Spain3,413
- Slovenia3,326
- Italy3,305
- Cyprus3,271
- Lithuania3,221
- Croatia2,890
- Czechia2,871
- Malta2,825
- Poland2,783
- Hungary2,777
- Portugal2,755
- Latvia2,671
- Estonia2,599
- Bulgaria2,359
- Slovakia2,345
- Greece2,321
Source: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey (earn_ses22_21), every four years. The United Kingdom is not covered by the survey.
Outlook to 2035
Employment in the Science and engineering professionals group according to Cedefop's 2026 forecast.
thousand · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · 2026–2035: projection
Replacement demand is the jobs left by people retiring or changing careers — even a shrinking occupation can have many openings.
According to the WEF
Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Specialists — among the FASTEST-GROWING jobs (rank 7)
Future 2035 →Related occupations
Sources: ILO WP140 (2025) · Eurostat lfsa_egai2d · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · WEF Future of Jobs 2025 · ESCO. The exposure score measures how much of an occupation's tasks generative AI could perform — not whether the job disappears. For information only, not career advice. How do we calculate this?