← All 785 jobsFile 47-2071
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 0.9% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- Joint #685 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -0.9% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $53,340 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 42,300 in the US, with about 3,100 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: Operate construction or excavation equipment27%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Perform general construction or extraction activities12%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct construction or extraction activities9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing7%
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.
Still yours: Maintain tools or equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Build structures4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Disassemble equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate transportation equipment or vehicles4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Direct vehicle traffic4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Cut materials2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections2%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Set up equipment2%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 511 conversations, and it got them there 95% of the time.
Still yours: Assemble products or work aids2%
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.
2025 to 2035
Ten years from now.
For every 100 of these jobs in 2025, the BLS projects 99 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 3,100 openings a year as people retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
The jobs closest to this one. None of them is much less exposed.
- Shares 52% of the workRail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators0% AI does, against 0% here+1.5% by 2035 · $70,070 · High school diploma
- Shares 49% of the workHighway Maintenance Workers0% AI does, against 0% here+3.4% by 2035 · $50,260 · High school diploma
- Shares 48% of the workHelpers--Extraction Workers0% AI does, against 0% here+1.7% by 2035 · $47,730 · High school diploma
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 0.01, higher than 1% 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, 47-2071 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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