Boilermakers
Also called: Boiler Mechanic, Boiler Technician (Boiler Tech), Boilermaker, Boilermaker MechanicConstruct, assemble, maintain, and repair stationary steam boilers and boiler house auxiliaries. Align structures or plate sections to assemble boiler frame tanks or vats, following blueprints. Work involves use of hand and power tools, plumb bobs, levels, wedges, dogs, or turnbuckles. Assist in testing assembled vessels. Direct cleaning of boilers and boiler furnaces. Inspect and repair boiler fittings, such as safety valves, regulators, automatic-control mechanisms, water columns, and auxiliary machines.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 17 rated tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 1.8% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 9.7% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 12.8 hires for every 10 job openings in construction, which employs about 63% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.12.8 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $63,570 | $50,190 to $73,440 | 180 |
| Arizona | $77,940 | $77,720 to $78,540 | 170 |
| Arkansas | $76,810 | $76,810 to $114,120 | 50 |
| California | $118,150 | $107,010 to $129,390 | 720 |
| Colorado | $89,350 | $86,360 to $94,930 | 40 |
| Connecticut | $80,360 | $62,400 to $89,920 | 50 |
| Florida | $69,790 | $58,800 to $71,180 | 400 |
| Georgia | $64,200 | $59,880 to $76,770 | not published |
| Idaho | $88,400 | $74,670 to $105,600 | 70 |
| Illinois | $99,730 | $89,520 to $103,430 | 110 |
| Indiana | $91,410 | $67,120 to $106,780 | 170 |
| Iowa | $82,470 | $66,250 to $85,660 | 50 |
| Kansas | $72,170 | $58,000 to $93,130 | 70 |
| Kentucky | $74,810 | $66,780 to $80,090 | 150 |
| Louisiana | $73,980 | $65,890 to $74,960 | 1,220 |
| Maryland | $42,250 | $38,070 to $57,480 | 30 |
| Michigan | $98,220 | $74,500 to $100,110 | not published |
| Minnesota | $96,190 | $81,420 to $105,430 | 140 |
| Mississippi | $105,910 | $60,360 to $108,940 | 280 |
| Missouri | $78,550 | $66,040 to $87,850 | 100 |
| Nevada | $61,430 | $59,840 to $75,100 | 70 |
| New Hampshire | $85,470 | $47,950 to $86,410 | 60 |
| New Jersey | $82,410 | $71,560 to $91,010 | 280 |
| New Mexico | $101,200 | $75,720 to $101,810 | 300 |
| New York | $84,770 | $64,660 to $120,290 | 410 |
| North Carolina | $49,720 | $46,460 to $76,510 | 150 |
| Ohio | $85,550 | $59,110 to $99,670 | 300 |
| Oklahoma | $77,750 | $48,670 to $77,770 | not published |
| Pennsylvania | $86,850 | $73,720 to $97,070 | 260 |
| Puerto Rico | $29,120 | $24,110 to $63,750 | 120 |
| South Carolina | $74,840 | $74,830 to $75,630 | not published |
| Tennessee | $51,810 | $49,910 to $105,370 | 180 |
| Texas | $75,750 | $64,870 to $80,090 | 2,340 |
| Virginia | $67,540 | $54,390 to $75,170 | 150 |
| Washington | $95,200 | $71,500 to $117,040 | 190 |
| West Virginia | $63,850 | $50,880 to $87,190 | 30 |
| Wisconsin | $97,590 | $61,770 to $100,550 | 170 |
| Wyoming | $77,900 | $61,020 to $77,900 | 30 |
Nationally: $76,410. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on none of its 17 rated tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not rated | Conduct pressure tests on vessels, such as boilers. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects. | Not published |
| Not much | Study blueprints to determine locations, relationships, or dimensions of parts. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean pressure vessel equipment, using scrapers, wire brushes, and cleaning solvents. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
See all 18 tasks
| Not much | Install manholes, handholes, taps, tubes, valves, gauges, or feedwater connections in drums of water tube boilers, using hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Bolt or arc weld pressure vessel structures and parts together, using wrenches or welding equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints. | Not published |
| Not much | Locate and mark reference points for columns or plates on boiler foundations, following blueprints and using straightedges, squares, transits, or measuring instruments. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Straighten or reshape bent pressure vessel plates or structure parts, using hammers, jacks, or torches. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Attach rigging and signal crane or hoist operators to lift heavy frame and plate sections or other parts into place. | Not published |
| Not much | Install refractory bricks or other heat-resistant materials in fireboxes of pressure vessels. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 18 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 18 tasks fall under 14 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position materials or components for assembly | |||
| Fabricate devices or components | |||
| Assemble equipment or components | |||
| Build structures | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Join parts using soldering, welding, or brazing techniques | |||
| Read documents or materials to inform work processes | |||
| Test performance of equipment or systems |
Show all 14 activities
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Test characteristics of materials or products | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Signal others to coordinate work activities | |||
| Operate lifting or moving equipment |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for boilermakers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 1,596 moves out
- 1 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 7%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 3 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 5%
- 4 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General Low +4.2% 5%
- 5 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers Low +2.4% 5%
Where people moved in from
of 1,329 moves in
- 1 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 9%
- 2 Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers Low +2.4% 5%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 4 Crane and Tower Operators Low +3.8% 5%
- 5 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General Low +4.2% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 32% postsecondary certificate
- 16% some college
- 52% not published
O*NET marks 52% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 15 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 11% less than high school
- 55% high school
- 22% some college
- 8% associate's
- 3% bachelor's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 166 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
1 program: Boilermaking/Boilermaker.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 4 registered apprenticeships in this occupation. Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Boilermakers” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/47-2011.00