AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers?

Task-level automation exposure for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers: 24 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

11% weighted task index

24 of 24 tasks scored

Median Salary

$58,930 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Medium

83,080 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+2.5% employment change

6,600 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 50 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$28,420 – $104,830

Highest medians

Hawaii $104,830

New Jersey $75,080

Alaska $73,690

Oregon $73,530

Washington $73,130

Lowest medians

Puerto Rico $28,420

Mississippi $37,310

Kansas $39,890

Idaho $43,790

Wyoming $43,990

State figures come from the 47-2081 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 11%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 87%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 5%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 0%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 30/100 Moderate

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

24 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 6%

1 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 5%

1 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 89%

22 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#13504 · Core · 70% automatable

Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.

visual inspection — Specs reading aided, human validates requirements

Review blueprints or specifications to determine work requirements.

#13503 · Core · 16% automatable

Measure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices.

physical manipulation — Physical measurement for assembly fitting

Measure materials or objects for installation or assembly. Mark reference points on construction materials.

#13512 · Core · 5% automatable

Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.

physical manipulation — Metal cutting with tools, hands-on

Install metal structural components. Cut metal components for installation.

#13508 · Core · 7% automatable

Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.

physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control

Install building fixtures. Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.

#13505 · Core · 4% automatable

Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.

physical manipulation — Installing fixtures requires manual dexterity

Install building fixtures.

#13507 · Core · 14% automatable

Measure and cut openings in panels or tiles for electrical outlets, windows, vents, plumbing, or other fixtures, using keyhole saws or other cutting tools.

physical manipulation — Physical measurement for assembly fitting

Measure materials or objects for installation or assembly. Cut openings in existing structures.

#13515 · Core · 6% automatable

Cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools.

physical manipulation — Metal cutting with tools, hands-on

Cut metal components for installation. Cut wood components for installation.

#13514 · Core · 4% automatable

Cut fixture or border tiles to size, using keyhole saws, and insert them into surrounding frameworks.

physical manipulation — Masonry cutting requires skilled manual work

Install masonry materials. Cut tile, stone, or other masonry materials.

#13510 · Core · 35% automatable

Coordinate work with drywall finishers who cover the seams between drywall panels.

decision support — AI aids scheduling; field coordination and conflict resolution human

Coordinate construction project activities.

#13511 · Core · 7% automatable

Trim rough edges from wallboard to maintain even joints, using knives.

physical manipulation — On-site trimming of installed materials

Trim excess material from installations.

#13516 · Core · 3% automatable

Install horizontal and vertical metal or wooden studs to frames so that wallboard can be attached to interior walls.

physical manipulation — Metal structural installation is hands-on

Install metal structural components. Install wooden structural components.

#13518 · Core · 3% automatable

Fasten metal or rockboard lath to the structural framework of walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using nails, screws, staples, or wire-ties.

physical manipulation — Metal structural installation is hands-on

Install metal structural components.

#13522 · Core · 3% automatable

Install blanket insulation between studs and tack plastic moisture barriers over insulation.

physical manipulation — Insulation installation requires manual fitting

Install insulation in equipment or structures.

#13509 · Core · 3% automatable

Assemble or install metal framing or decorative trim for windows, doorways, or vents.

physical manipulation — Trim and paneling require precise manual fitting

Install trim or paneling.

#13517 · Core · 5% automatable

Scribe and cut edges of tile to fit walls where wall molding is not specified.

physical manipulation — Masonry cutting requires skilled manual work

Cut tile, stone, or other masonry materials.

#13506 · Core · 8% automatable

Hang dry lines to wall moldings to guide positioning of main runners.

physical manipulation — Marking reference points is hands-on site work

Mark reference points on construction materials.

#13527 · Core · 3% automatable

Apply or mount acoustical tile or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings or walls of buildings to reduce reflection of sound or to decorate rooms.

physical manipulation — Trim and paneling require precise manual fitting

Install trim or paneling.

#13528 · Core · 5% automatable

Remove existing plaster, drywall, or paneling, using crowbars and hammers.

physical manipulation — Hands-on removal of worn materials

Remove worn, damaged or outdated materials from work areas.

#13519 · Supplemental · 4% automatable

Suspend angle iron grids or channel irons from ceilings, using wire.

physical manipulation — Installing fixtures requires manual dexterity

Install building fixtures.

#13520 · Supplemental · 5% automatable

Seal joints between ceiling tiles and walls.

physical manipulation — Applying filler to surfaces is hands-on

Apply material to fill gaps in surfaces.

#13513 · Supplemental · 18% automatable

Inspect furrings, mechanical mountings, or masonry surfaces for plumbness and level, using spirit or water levels.

physical manipulation — Alignment verification needs physical measurement tools

Verify alignment of structures or equipment.

#13523 · Supplemental · 3% automatable

Install metal lath where plaster applications will be exposed to weather or water, or for curved or irregular surfaces.

physical manipulation — Metal structural installation is hands-on

Install metal structural components.

#13525 · Supplemental · 2% automatable

Nail channels or wood furring strips to surfaces to provide mounting for tile.

physical manipulation — Masonry requires skilled manual labor

Install masonry materials.

#13521 · Supplemental · 2% automatable

Mount tile, using adhesives, or by nailing, screwing, stapling, or wire-tying lath directly to structural frameworks.

physical manipulation — Masonry requires skilled manual labor

Install masonry materials.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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