JobBreak

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair · United States (national)

Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door

How exposed this work is to automation, shown as ranges with the reasoning and sources.

The short version: this role is moderately exposed to automation, and meaningful change looks likely over the next 5 to 10 years. It is a sourced range, not a verdict, and the detail is below.

Built on O*NET tasks, BLS pay and projections, and peer-reviewed AI-exposure research. Sources shown. Data snapshot SNAPSHOT-2026-11-06. How it works
7.1 of 100
AI / softwarerange 0.0 to 19.1
59.4 of 100
Physical / roboticsrange 47.4 to 71.4

When the change is likely

partial change 0y 5y 10y 15y 20+y

Partial, 5 to 10 years local demand stable

What to do about it

Use AI to outpace AI.

Strategies to protect your livelihood, most important first.

1
Use your 5 to 10 year runway
Change here is gradual. Build resilient skills steadily and watch the signals rather than waiting for a shock.
2
Move up from the task to the system
Robotics targets the physical work. Shift toward supervising, maintaining, or programming the automation instead of competing with it.
3
Pivot toward Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
It is skill-adjacent and less exposed (54.9 vs 59). A lateral move now beats a forced one later.
4
Build a financial buffer
Keep 6 to 12 months of expenses and diversify your income, so a disruption is a setback rather than a catastrophe.
5
Add a recognised credential
A certification or license raises the bar against automation and signals value in a tightening market.

Which of my tasks are exposed

Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made.
59.4
Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches.
59.4
Lubricate wearing surfaces of mechanical parts, using oils or other lubricants.
59.4

Longer, orange bars are more automatable; short green bars are resistant.

What is driving my result

lowers risk
raises risk
Task: Record maintenance information, including test results, material usage, and repairs made.
Task: Disassemble and repair mechanical control devices or valves, such as regulators, thermostats, or hydrants, using power tools, hand tools, and cutting torches.

Lower-risk adjacent roles

Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
54.9
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
57.4
Industrial Machinery Mechanics
58.8

A full, ranked mitigation plan is part of the paid tiers.

How this score is calculated

  1. Map Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door to its standard O*NET task list (3 core tasks).
  2. Score each task for AI/software exposure (Eloundou et al. 2023) and physical/robotics exposure (an O*NET work-context proxy), each 0 to 100.
  3. The two axis scores are the task averages: AI 7.1, robotics 59.4.
  4. The timeline comes from the higher axis (59.4), shifted for local demand (stable), and seniority. It is read against your remaining working years.
  5. Ranges are about ±12 points. A backtest against real BLS employment change shows the risk ranking holds in aggregate, but individual outcomes are predicted weakly, so results are ranges, never a flat verdict.

Sources: O*NET, Eloundou et al. (2023), GPTs are GPTs, O*NET Work Context, BLS CPI-U, BLS OEWS. Snapshot SNAPSHOT-2026-11-06. Full method and backtest on How it works.

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