Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall
Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 62% 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 +2.4% 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)
- $49,120
- Job growth to 2035
- +2.4%
- Openings a year
- 3,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 45,100
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
- Select materials or equipment for operations or projects
- Read documents or materials to inform work processes
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
- Measure and cut insulation for covering surfaces, using tape measures, handsaws, power saws, knives, or scissors.
- Fit, wrap, staple, or glue insulating materials to structures or surfaces, using hand tools or wires.
- Cover and line structures with blown or rolled forms of materials to insulate against cold, heat, or moisture, using saws, knives, rasps, trowels, blowers, or other tools and implements.
- Distribute insulating materials evenly into small spaces within floors, ceilings, or walls, using blowers and hose attachments, or cement mortars.
- Move controls, buttons, or levers to start blowers and regulate flow of materials through nozzles.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masonsHuman edge, steady, Index 77, +1.5%
- Structural iron and steel workersHuman edge, steady, Index 75, +3.1%
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
- Food processing workers, all otherHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +5.5%
Also known as: Insulation Estimator, Insulation Installer, Insulator, Retrofit Installer, Attic Blower, Insulation Mechanic, Insulation Worker, Spray Foam Installer.
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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.