Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Boilermakers
Construct, assemble, maintain, and repair stationary steam boilers and boiler house auxiliaries. Align structures or plate sections to assemble boiler frame tanks or vats, following blueprints. Work involves use of hand and power tools, plumb bobs, levels, wedges, dogs, or turnbuckles. Assist in testing assembled vessels. Direct cleaning of boilers and boiler furnaces. Inspect and repair boiler fittings, such as safety valves, regulators, automatic-control mechanisms, water columns, and auxiliary machines.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 64% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -1.8% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $76,410
- Job growth to 2035
- -1.8%
- Openings a year
- 700
- People doing it (2025)
- 10,200
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then an apprenticeship
Where people already use AI for this work
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Position materials or components for assembly
- Fabricate devices or components
- Assemble equipment or components
What the work looks like
- Conduct pressure tests on vessels, such as boilers.
- Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts.
- Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit.
- Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.
- Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as coal plants are closed or converted to natural gas.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Helpers--carpentersHuman edge, steady, Index 71, -1.7%
- Hazardous materials removal workersHuman edge, steady, Index 72, +1.5%
- Solar photovoltaic installersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +36.5%
- Earth drillers, except oil and gasHuman edge, growing, Index 74, +3.6%
Also known as: Boiler Mechanic, Boiler Technician (Boiler Tech), Boilermaker, Boilermaker Mechanic, Boiler Installer, Boiler Repairman, Boiler Service Technician (Boiler Service Tech), Boilermaker Pipe Fitter.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.