Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Glaziers
Install glass in windows, skylights, store fronts, and display cases, or on surfaces, such as building fronts, interior walls, ceilings, and tabletops.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 69% 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 +1.9% by 2035, slower than average. 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)
- $57,080
- Job growth to 2035
- +1.9%
- Openings a year
- 3,900
- People doing it (2025)
- 59,200
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then an apprenticeship
Where people already use AI for this work
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Build structures
- Cut materials
- Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing
What the work looks like
- Read and interpret blueprints or specifications to determine size, shape, color, type, or thickness of glass, location of framing, installation procedures, or staging or scaffolding materials required.
- Determine plumb of walls or ceilings, using plumb lines and levels.
- Install pre-assembled metal or wood frameworks for windows or doors to be fitted with glass panels, using hand tools.
- Fabricate or install metal sashes or moldings for glass installation, using aluminum or steel framing.
- Operate cranes or hoists with suction cups to lift large, heavy pieces of glass.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Construction laborersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.3%
- Helpers--electriciansHuman edge, steady, Index 81, +0.6%
- Extraction workers, all otherHuman edge, steady, Index 89, +3.4%
- Underground mining machine operators, all otherHuman edge, steady, Index 71, -1.0%
Also known as: Commercial Glazier, Field Glazier, Glazer, Glazier, Auto Glass Tech (Automobile Glass Technician), Glass Installer, Glass Technician (Glass Tech), Glassman.
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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.