Boilermakers
SOC Code: 47-2011
Boilermakers carries a 21% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $73,340 and -2.4% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 10,400 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 21% AI exposure, Boilermakers sits 16 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 8% of them. It ranks among the more AI-resilient roles in the dataset.
Career outlook score
59/100
Boilermakers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage B $73,340
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -2.4%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) A+ 21% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Boilermakers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Boilermakers keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Boilermakers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Boilermakers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
21% Among the lowest lower than 92% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Boilermakers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Boilermakers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Boilermakers's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 47-2011) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Boilermakers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Boilermakers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Registered Apprenticeship Pathway Available
Boilermakers is a recognized registered apprenticeship occupation under the DOL RAPIDS system. Earn while you train, apprentices typically start at ~$16/hr and reach $28–$46/hr upon completion, depending on the specific trade and region.
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Conduct pressure tests on vessels, such as boilers.
- 2. Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts.
- 3. Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit.
- 4. Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.
- 5. Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.
- 6. 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.
- 7. Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints.
- 8. Locate and mark reference points for columns or plates on boiler foundations, following blueprints and using straightedges, squares, transits, or measuring instruments.
- 9. 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.
- 10. Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints.
Key Skills Required
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
- Repairing
- Quality Control Analysis
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
Knowledge Areas
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Building and Construction
- Computers and Electronics
- Physics
- Engineering and Technology
- Design
- Customer and Personal Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Boilermakers?
Boilermakers has an AI exposure score of 21%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Boilermakers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Boilermakers is projected to decline by 2.4% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 10,400 workers.
What skills are needed for Boilermakers?
Key skills for Boilermakers include Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Boilermakers earn?
The median annual wage for Boilermakers is $73,340, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Boilermakers?
The typical entry-level education for Boilermakers is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Apprenticeship. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Boilermakers?
Boilermakers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Boilermakers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (21% here).
- Athletes and sports competitors · AI exposure 21%
- Automotive body and related repairers · AI exposure 21%
- Automotive glass installers and repairers · AI exposure 21%
- Chemical equipment operators and tenders · AI exposure 21%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-2.4% here).
- Bicycle repairers · growth -2.3%
- Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders · growth -2.5%
- Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders · growth -2.3%
- Education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare · growth -2.5%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 43 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Boilermakers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Boilermakers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).