← All 785 jobsFile 47-2151
Pipelayers
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 3.1% fewer of these jobs by 2035.
- Rank
- #662 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- -3.1% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $49,000 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 33,200 in the US, with about 2,100 openings a year
The work, 15 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: Perform general construction or extraction activities22%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Install plumbing or piping equipment or systems11%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position tools or equipment6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Cut materials6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques6%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Maintain facilities or equipment6%
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: Position materials or components for assembly5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Communicate with others about operational plans or activities5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,065 conversations, and it got them there 93% of the time. In this job the work is hands-on, so AI can only assist.
Still yours: Operate construction or excavation equipment5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Operate transportation equipment or vehicles5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Drill holes in earth or materials4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment4%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Train others on operational or work procedures4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 348 Copilot conversations and completed it 92% of the time.
Still yours: Direct construction or extraction activities4%
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 97 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
Even shrinking, it should still see about 2,100 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 45% of the workCement Masons and Concrete Finishers0% AI does, against 4% here+1.6% by 2035 · $57,020 · No formal credential
- Shares 43% of the workHelpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters0% AI does, against 4% here+2.4% by 2035 · $42,360 · High school diploma
- Shares 40% of the workSeptic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners2% AI does, against 4% here+7.8% by 2035 · $49,880 · 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 0.04, higher than 9% 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, 47-2151 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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