Will AI replace photonics technicians?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 8h (100%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 2.8% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. 18 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 2 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

8h of a typical shift, or 100%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Assemble fiber optical, optoelectronic, or free-space optics components, subcomponents, assemblies, or subassemblies. (45m a shift)
• Adjust or maintain equipment, such as lasers, laser systems, microscopes, oscilloscopes, pulse generators, power meters, beam analyzers, or energy measurement devices. (38m a shift)
• Set up or operate assembly or processing equipment, such as lasers, cameras, die bonders, wire bonders, dispensers, reflow ovens, soldering irons, die shears, wire pull testers, temperature or humidity chambers, or optical spectrum analyzers. (38m a shift)
• Test or perform failure analysis for optomechanical or optoelectrical products, according to test plans. (38m a shift)
• Compute or record photonic test data. (32m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 68% use their hands on tools, objects or controls more than half the time
• 64% talk face to face with others every day

On Indeed, job postings in the Industrial Engineering sector are at 124% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 38% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 5,400 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $78,350 a year ($37.67 an hour), 54% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $47,030 and $118,330 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 2.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 64,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 5,400 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 60,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.04% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 357th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 64,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is an associate's degree: about 41% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 3 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: vocational school or associate's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Quality Control Analysis, Troubleshooting
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 8h of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel, Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, Facebook

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians (0m touched, $74k median pay)
• Robotics Technicians (0m touched, $74k median pay)
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians (19m touched, $78k median pay)
• Automotive Engineering Technicians (1h 17m touched, $75k median pay)
• Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians (0m touched, $83k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 24 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.