AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 47-2011.00
Will AI replace Boilermakers?
Boilermakers: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 18 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 18 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Boilermakers, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Repair or replace defective pressure vessel parts, such as safety valves or regulators, using torches, jacks, caulking hammers, power saws, threading dies, welding equipment, or metalworking machinery. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Install refractory bricks or other heat-resistant materials in fireboxes of pressure vessels. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Lay out plate, sheet steel, or other heavy metal and locate and mark bending and cutting lines, using protractors, compasses, and drawing instruments or templates. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Shape or fabricate parts, such as stacks, uptakes, or chutes, to adapt pressure vessels, heat exchangers, or piping to premises, using heavy-metalworking machines such as brakes, rolls, or drill presses. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean pressure vessel equipment, using scrapers, wire brushes, and cleaning solvents. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Straighten or reshape bent pressure vessel plates or structure parts, using hammers, jacks, or torches. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Shape seams, joints, or irregular edges of pressure vessel sections or structural parts to attain specified fit of parts, using cutting torches, hammers, files, or metalworking machines. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Bolt or arc weld pressure vessel structures and parts together, using wrenches or welding equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Conduct pressure tests on vessels, such as boilers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Locate and mark reference points for columns or plates on boiler foundations, following blueprints and using straightedges, squares, transits, or measuring instruments. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Install manholes, handholes, taps, tubes, valves, gauges, or feedwater connections in drums of water tube boilers, using hand tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Attach rigging and signal crane or hoist operators to lift heavy frame and plate sections or other parts into place. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 18 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 18 of 18. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 22% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 22% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 78% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 10,190
- Median annual wage
- $76,410
- Middle half of earners
- $64,760 to $95,430
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -2.4%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure24
- Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators 64% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure24
- Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure17
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure38
- Structural Iron and Steel Workers 62% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure18
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Boilermakers and AI
Will AI replace Boilermakers?
Not on current evidence. None of the 18 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 15 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.
What is the AI exposure of Boilermakers?
15 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 18 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 18 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Boilermakers tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit, at 20 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
An efficient-tier model or lower covers 22% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 78% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Boilermakers, and what do they earn?
10,190 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $76,410 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -2.4% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Boilermakers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/boilermakers
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