AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 47-2071.00
Will AI replace Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators?
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 20 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 20 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinate truck dumping. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Install dies, cutters, and extensions to screeds onto machines, using hand tools. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Set up and tear down equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Control traffic. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Place strips of material, such as cork, asphalt, or steel into joints, or place rolls of expansion-joint material on machines that automatically insert material. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Shovel blacktop. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate tamping machines or manually roll surfaces to compact earth fills, foundation forms, and finished road materials, according to grade specifications. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate oil distributors, loaders, chip spreaders, dump trucks, and snow plows. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate machines that clean or cut expansion joints in concrete or asphalt and that rout out cracks in pavement. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Set up forms and lay out guidelines for curbs, according to written specifications, using string, spray paint, and concrete or water mixes. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Drive machines onto truck trailers, and drive trucks to transport machines and material to and from job sites. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Drive and operate curbing machines to extrude concrete or asphalt curbing. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cut or break up pavement and drive guardrail posts, using machines equipped with interchangeable hammers. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 20 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 20 of 20. 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
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 20% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 20% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 80% 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
- 41,820
- Median annual wage
- $53,340
- Middle half of earners
- $45,610 to $64,720
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +3.2%
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.
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure18
- Segmental Pavers 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure23
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators 65% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure18
- Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure22
- Construction Laborers 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure19
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators and AI
Will AI replace Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators?
Not on current evidence. None of the 20 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 17 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 Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators?
17 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 20 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 20 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Coordinate truck dumping, at 50 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 20% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 80% 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 Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators, and what do they earn?
41,820 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $53,340 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +3.2% 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: Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators. 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/paving-surfacing-and-tamping-equipment-operators
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