Bridge and lock tenders

Operate and tend bridges, canal locks, and lighthouses to permit marine passage on inland waterways, near shores, and at danger points in waterway passages. May supervise such operations. Includes drawbridge operators, lock operators, and slip bridge operators.

AI Resistance Index 51 of 99

In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 51% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -2.3% by 2035, expected to shrink.

AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.

Median pay (2025): $57,700
Job growth to 2035: -2.3%
Openings a year: 300
People doing it (2025): 3,100
Usual route in: High school diploma, then short on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Operate transportation equipment or vehicles
Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance
Maintain operational records

What the work looks like

Turn valves to increase or decrease water levels in locks.
Check that bridges are clear of vehicles and pedestrians prior to opening.
Control machinery to open and close canal locks and dams, railroad or highway drawbridges, or horizontally or vertically adjustable bridges.
Direct movements of vessels in locks or bridge areas, using signals, telecommunication equipment, or loudspeakers.
Observe position and progress of vessels to ensure best use of lock spaces or bridge opening spaces.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as an increase in the automation and remote operation of locks and bridges will replace some of the tasks previously performed by bridge and lock tenders.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Aircraft service attendantsHuman edge, growing, Index 91, +5.6%
Light truck driversHuman edge, growing, Index 75, +6.3%
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck driversHuman edge, growing, Index 74, +3.8%
Industrial truck and tractor operatorsHuman edge, steady, Index 82, +1.5%

Also known as: Bridge Operator, Bridge Tender, Lock Tender.

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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.