Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Roof bolters, mining
Operate machinery to install roof support bolts in underground mine.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 53% 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 -18.9% 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)
- $78,540
- Job growth to 2035
- -18.9%
- Openings a year
- 100
- People doing it (2025)
- 2,200
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Set up equipment
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Build structures
- Operate construction or excavation equipment
- Position tools or equipment
What the work looks like
- Drill bolt holes into roofs at specified distances from ribs or adjacent bolts.
- Pull down loose rock that cannot be supported.
- Position bolting machines, and insert drill bits into chucks.
- Perform safety checks on equipment before operating.
- Perform tests to determine if methane gas is present.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as the industry increasingly prefers surface mining over underground mining.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Cement masons and concrete finishersHuman edge, steady, Index 78, +1.6%
- Reinforcing iron and rebar workersHuman edge, steady, Index 55, -5.3%
- Pile driver operatorsHuman edge, steady, Index 80, -5.7%
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
Also known as: Bolter, Roof Bolter, Roof Bolter Operator, Underground Roof Bolter, Bolt Machine Operator, Bolt Man, Miner, Place Change Roof Bolter.
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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.