Assembly Line Worker
🧰Assembles products on the line: fits parts, checks them and passes them on. A fixed pace and the same operations all shift long.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $45.3k a year on average
Other assemblers and fabricators — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £28.1k median a year · 47,000 jobs
Assemblers and routine operatives n.e.c. — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
These are exactly the tasks robots and cobots take over first. The way to stay in the field is to retrain as a robotic line setter or operator.
Who it suits
Interests: 🔧 Making things by hand, ⚙️ Tech and engineering.
Key strengths: manual dexterity, organisation, strength and stamina.
Where to study
- Course On-the-job training at the plant (a few days to weeks)
- Apprenticeship Manufacturing operative / Fachkraft für Metalltechnik apprenticeship — a step towards technician roles
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Maths.
🧗 Trained on the job in days or weeks; no qualifications required. To move up, take an apprenticeship (UK manufacturing operative, German Fachkraft für Metalltechnik) and become a line setter.
Things to know
🌙 Night shifts and on-call🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells
Similar careers
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