Career Explorer Installation and repair
Human edge, growing
Riggers
Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 81% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +3.9% 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)
- $62,640
- Job growth to 2035
- +3.9%
- Openings a year
- 1,700
- People doing it (2025)
- 22,500
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Set up equipment
- Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
- Test performance of equipment or systems
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Operate lifting or moving equipment
- Move materials, equipment, or supplies
- Disassemble equipment
What the work looks like
- Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
- Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
- Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
- Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.
- Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +5.3%
- Solar photovoltaic installersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +36.5%
- Tree trimmers and prunersHuman edge, growing, Index 98, +4.2%
- Tank car, truck, and ship loadersHuman edge, steady, Index 90, +2.8%
Also known as: Machinery Erector, Machinery Mover, Motor Rigger, Rigger, Gantry Rigger, Hand Rigger, Heavy Lift Rigger, Marine Rigger.
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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.