AI Career Radar

Validation Engineers

Design or plan protocols for equipment or processes to produce products meeting internal and external purity, safety, and quality requirements.

AI exposure35 / 100Moderate exposure

Based on O*NET work context for this occupation. This score does not predict individual job losses.

What drives the score

Automation and repetition raise exposure; freedom to set tasks lowers it. Each measure uses a 0–100 scale.

Degree of automation22
Freedom to set tasks77
Repeating the same tasks65
$102,440Median annual wage, U.S.BLS OEWS
+12.4%Jobs, 2025 to 2035 (much faster than average)BLS Employment Projections
64Skill durability (moderate)Transferability, out of 100

How well your skills transfer

Each skill is scored on how well it transfers into occupations that are growing and less exposed. The ones high on both importance and transfer are worth deepening.

Highest transferability first

Both scores out of 100

Skills ranked by transferability. Both scores use a 0–100 scale.
SkillTransferabilityImportance in current role
Speaking
63
75
Critical Thinking
63
75
Active Listening
63
72
Monitoring
63
72
Judgment and Decision Making
63
53
Complex Problem Solving
62
69
Active Learning
62
56
Coordination
62
50
Reading Comprehension
61
78
Time Management
61
50
Show 25 more skills
Skills ranked by transferability. Both scores use a 0–100 scale.
SkillTransferabilityImportance in current role
Writing
60
75
Social Perceptiveness
60
53
Learning Strategies
58
50
Instructing
58
44
Systems Analysis
57
53
Systems Evaluation
56
53
Service Orientation
56
44
Persuasion
54
47
Mathematics
53
53
Science
52
69
Negotiation
52
44
Management of Personnel Resources
50
44
Operations Analysis
49
50
Installation
48
0
Quality Control Analysis
47
50
Troubleshooting
47
31
Management of Material Resources
47
25
Technology Design
47
22
Management of Financial Resources
47
19
Equipment Maintenance
47
9
Equipment Selection
47
3
Operations Monitoring
46
53
Repairing
46
3
Programming
45
22
Operation and Control
43
28

Compare how well you can use each skill in growing, low-exposure occupations with its importance in your current role. How we score skills.

Jobs you could move to

Compare related occupations by skill overlap, retraining effort, pay and projected growth. Choose a priority to adjust the ranking. Licensing requirements may limit some routes.

90/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$132,300
10-yr growth
+41%
Skill gap
12%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Learning

84/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$135,880
10-yr growth
+21.1%
Skill gap
8%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Active Learning, Judgment and Decision Making, Service Orientation, Operations Monitoring

83/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$129,180
10-yr growth
+21%
Skill gap
7%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Judgment and Decision Making, Systems Analysis, Time Management

83/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$135,880
10-yr growth
+21.1%
Skill gap
10%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Judgment and Decision Making, Active Learning

82/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$167,220
10-yr growth
+8.2%
Skill gap
7%
Retraining
Low

Skills to build: Time Management, Judgment and Decision Making, Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation

81/100 match
Median pay · U.S.
$175,140
10-yr growth
+15.8%
Skill gap
15%
Retraining
Moderate

Skills to build: Management of Financial Resources, Management of Personnel Resources, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making

A second source of income, before you need it

This page can tell you where Validation Engineers could go and what the move costs. The other route is not a move at all: something small of your own, running alongside the job, started while there is no pressure on it.

Where to learn the missing half: Google Career Certificates for systems analysis · active learning, LinkedIn Learning for writing · speaking, edX for mathematics · reading and PlanetNoCode for complex problem solving. Some of those are affiliate links. It never changes what we list.

Snapshot: O*NET 31.0, BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035. Scoring v2.1.0-onet-31.0. Method on the how it works page.