Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Helpers--roofers
Help roofers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 74% 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 -0.1% 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)
- $44,160
- Job growth to 2035
- -0.1%
- Openings a year
- 600
- People doing it (2025)
- 6,100
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare mixtures or solutions
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Build structures
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
- Perform general construction or extraction activities
What the work looks like
- Check to ensure that completed roofs are watertight.
- Set ladders, scaffolds, and hoists in place for taking supplies to roofs.
- Clean work areas and equipment.
- Maintain tools and equipment.
- Provide assistance to skilled roofers installing and repairing roofs, flashings, and surfaces.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as construction laborers are increasingly assigned helpers tasks because they can support various trades, including roofers.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- PaperhangersHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +4.3%
- Tire repairers and changersHuman edge, steady, Index 91, +3.4%
- Rock splitters, quarryHuman edge, growing, Index 92, +5.8%
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
Also known as: Roofer Apprentice, Roofer Helper, Roofing Apprentice.
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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.