Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, growing
Elevator and escalator installers and repairers
Assemble, install, repair, or maintain electric or hydraulic freight or passenger elevators, escalators, or dumbwaiters.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 97% 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 +5.7% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity and ethical judgement.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $109,910
- Job growth to 2035
- +5.7%
- Openings a year
- 1,900
- People doing it (2025)
- 24,700
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then an apprenticeship
Where people already use AI for this work
- Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- Connect components or supply lines to equipment or tools
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment
- Assemble equipment or components
- Maintain tools or equipment
What the work looks like
- Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
- Assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters.
- Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
- Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.
- Assemble elevator cars, installing each car's platform, walls, and doors.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
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Also known as: Elevator Mechanic, Elevator Service Mechanic, Elevator Service Technician (Elevator Service Tech), Elevator Technician (Elevator Tech), Elevator Adjuster, Elevator Constructor, Elevator Installer, Elevator Repair and Maintenance Technician (Elevator Repair and Maintenance Tech).
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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.