AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 49-3053.00
Will AI replace Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics?
Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics: AI can already handle 1 of 14 tasks; the work mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample: send this role and up to nine others, and a founder sends a board-pack PDF within two business days.
Every task, scored
The 14 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test and inspect engines to determine malfunctions, to locate missing and broken parts, and to verify repairs, using diagnostic instruments. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Record repairs made, time spent, and parts used. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Repair and maintain gasoline engines used to power equipment such as portable saws, lawn mowers, generators, and compressors. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Repair or replace defective parts such as magnetos, water pumps, gears, pistons, and carburetors, using hand tools. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Reassemble engines after repair or maintenance work is complete. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Obtain problem descriptions from customers, and prepare cost estimates for repairs. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Show customers how to maintain equipment. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Remove engines from equipment, and position and bolt engines to repair stands. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Dismantle engines, using hand tools, and examine parts for defects. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Adjust points, valves, carburetors, distributors, and spark plug gaps, using feeler gauges. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Perform routine maintenance such as cleaning and oiling parts, honing cylinders, and tuning ignition systems. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Replace motors. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Sell parts and equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Grind, ream, rebore, and re-tap parts to obtain specified clearances, using grinders, lathes, taps, reamers, boring machines, and micrometers. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 14 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 14 of 14. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 50% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 58% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 42% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 36,060
- Median annual wage
- $47,880
- Middle half of earners
- $40,670 to $58,560
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +2.5%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Motorcycle Mechanics 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure17
- Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure19
- Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure22
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure17
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics 66% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure21
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics and AI
Will AI replace Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics?
AI already handles 1 of the 14 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 22 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by +2.5% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics?
22 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 14 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 14 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Test and inspect engines to determine malfunctions, to locate missing and broken parts, and to verify repairs, using diagnostic instruments. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 50% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 42% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics, and what do they earn?
36,060 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $47,880 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +2.5% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/outdoor-power-equipment-and-other-small-engine-mechanics
Have a team in this role?
Get your free 10-role sample. Send this role and up to nine others, with no employee data, and a founder sends a PDF in board-pack format within two business days.
A founder replies within one business day.