Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, growing
Tile and stone setters
Apply hard tile, stone, and comparable materials to walls, floors, ceilings, countertops, and roof decks.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 92% 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 +9.8% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $55,690
- Job growth to 2035
- +9.8%
- Openings a year
- 3,300
- People doing it (2025)
- 45,200
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then long on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare mixtures or solutions
- Determine operational methods or procedures
- Determine resource needs of projects or operations
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Perform general construction or extraction activities
- Build structures
- Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections
What the work looks like
- Align and straighten tile using levels, squares, and straightedges.
- Finish and dress the joints and wipe excess grout from between tiles, using damp sponge.
- Cut and shape tile to fit around obstacles and into odd spaces and corners, using hand and power cutting tools.
- Determine and implement the best layout to achieve a desired pattern.
- Mix, apply, and spread plaster, concrete, mortar, cement, mastic, glue or other adhesives to form a bed for the tiles, using brush, trowel and screed.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as tile and natural stone continue to gain share in overall flooring market sales.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plasticHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +5.8%
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
- Construction laborersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.3%
- Industrial machinery mechanicsHuman edge, growing, Index 94, +17.8%
Also known as: Tile and Marble Installer, Tile Installer, Tile Mechanic, Tile Setter, Ceramic Tile Mechanic, Ceramic Tile Setter, Tile and Marble Setter, Tile Finisher.
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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.