← All 785 jobsFile 47-2211
Sheet Metal Workers
Mostly untouched
AI barely touches this work so far. The BLS expects 2.5% more of these jobs by 2035, slower than the 3.5% average.
- Rank
- Joint #429 of 785 jobs, by how much of the work AI does
- US jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +2.5% All jobs: +3.5%
- Median US pay
- $61,800 a year, 2025
- People doing it
- 131,100 in the US, with about 9,800 openings a year
The work, 18 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: Fabricate devices or components15%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Position materials or components for assembly9%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques8%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Build structures7%
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: Assemble equipment or components6%
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: Install plumbing or piping equipment or systems5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI does this: Train others on operational or work procedures5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 348 Copilot conversations and completed it 92% of the time.
Still yours: Direct construction or extraction activities5%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment5%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 1,656 conversations, and it got them there 84% of the time.
AI does this: Read documents or materials to inform work processes5%
AI performed this in about 1 in 214 Copilot conversations and completed it 87% of the time.
AI does this: Select materials or equipment for operations or projects4%
AI performed this in about 1 in 529 Copilot conversations and completed it 94% of the time.
Still yours: Inspect completed work or finished products3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
AI helps with this: Create visual designs or displays3%
People asked AI for help with this in about 1 in 78 conversations, and it got them there 40% of the time.
Still yours: Monitor operations to ensure compliance with regulations or standards3%
Barely appears in AI conversations: fewer than 1 in 2,000.
Still yours: Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment2%
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 102 in 2035. Across all US jobs, about 104.
About 9,800 openings a year, from growth and from people who retire or move on.
Nearby
Where your skills travel.
Jobs that share the most work with this one, where AI does less of it.
- Shares 37% of the workMillwrights0% AI does, against 14% here+0.9% by 2035 · $65,700 · High school diploma
- Shares 35% of the workStructural Iron and Steel Workers7% AI does, against 14% here+3.1% by 2035 · $62,780 · High school diploma
- Shares 34% of the workMaintenance and Repair Workers, General5% AI does, against 14% here+4.2% by 2035 · $49,590 · 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 0.06, higher than 18% 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, 47-2211 · BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
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