← All 785 jobsFile 47-4051
Highway Maintenance Workers
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 3.4% more of these jobs by 2035, slower than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- Joint #685 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +3.4% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $50,260 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 161,800 in the US, with about 11,800 openings a year
The work, 17 activities
The job description, marked up.
Every activity in this job, the biggest first. Tap a line for the evidence.
- deleAI does this
- +AIAI helps
- stetStill yours
Still yours: Direct vehicle traffic16%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Dispose of waste or debris14%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Perform general construction or extraction activities11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate construction or excavation equipment9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate transportation equipment or vehicles7%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Build structures6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Move materials, equipment, or supplies5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Maintain facilities or equipment5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,312 conversations, and it got them there 95% of the time.
Still yours: Apply protective solutions or coatings3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Assess characteristics of land or property2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position materials or components for assembly2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Prepare mixtures or solutions1%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 714 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time.
Still yours: Disassemble equipment1%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 103 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 11,800 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 49% of the workPaving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators0% AI does, against 0% here-0.9% by 2035 · $53,340 · High school diploma
- Shares 47% of the workHelpers--Roofers0% AI does, against 0% here-0.1% by 2035 · $44,160 · No formal credential
- Shares 47% of the workHelpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters7% AI does, against 0% here-11.7% by 2035 · $47,550 · No formal credential
The wire
On the wire.
Nothing filed about this job yet. The latest from the Work front:
How to read this file.
deleAI does this. In US Bing Copilot conversations from January to September 2024, AI itself performed the activity, completed it and made a real difference often enough to count.
+AIAI helps. People brought the activity to AI as their own goal, and it usually got them there.
stetStill yours. It barely shows up in AI use, AI rarely finishes it, or in this job it needs hands.
Shares are weighted by how much each activity matters in the job, using O*NET. Microsoft’s own AI applicability score for this job is 0.02, higher than 4% of jobs.
Doing an activity is not doing a job. The researchers behind this data warn against reading it as job loss, and so do we. It is US data; the shape of the work travels.
Sources: Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025) · O*NET OnLine, 47-4051 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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