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Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?
AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Riggers?
Task-level automation exposure for Riggers: 14 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
15%
weighted task index
14 of 14 tasks scored
Median Salary
$62,640 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
22,530 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+3.9%
employment change
1,700 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 43 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$37,440 – $105,600
Highest medians
New York $105,600
Oregon $94,470
Utah $93,640
Maryland $91,420
Minnesota $87,120
Lowest medians
New Mexico $37,440
Kansas $41,060
Louisiana $43,660
Indiana $46,090
Tennessee $47,180
State figures come from the 49-9096 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 15%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 75%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 8%
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 50/100
High
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
14 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) 8%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 8%
1 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 84%
12 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
#13893 · Core · 27% automatable
Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
physical manipulation — Physical system testing with hands-on instrumentation
Test mechanical systems to ensure proper functioning.
#13892 · Core · 45% automatable
Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
interpersonal — Install/repair coordination is situated teamwork
Communicate with coworkers to coordinate installations or repairs.
#13896 · Core · 10% automatable
Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
#13897 · Core · 8% automatable
Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.
physical manipulation — Manual moving of materials and supplies
Move materials, equipment, or supplies.
#13895 · Core · 62% automatable
Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
decision support — Equipment selection needs site context and judgment
Determine types of equipment, tools, or materials needed for jobs.
#13902 · Core · 5% automatable
Dismantle and store rigging equipment after use.
physical manipulation — Dismantling heavy machinery is physical trade work
Dismantle heavy equipment or machinery.
#13894 · Core · 3% automatable
Attach loads to rigging to provide support or prepare them for moving, using hand and power tools.
physical manipulation — Physical rigging attachment
Attach rigging to objects so they can be moved.
#13900 · Core · 9% automatable
Manipulate rigging lines, hoists, and pulling gear to move or support materials, such as heavy equipment, ships, or theatrical sets.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Move materials, equipment, or supplies. Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
#13898 · Core · 8% automatable
Align, level, and anchor machinery.
physical manipulation — Physical alignment of machinery requires hands
Align equipment or machinery.
#21206 · Core · 4% automatable
Load machines onto trucks to prepare for transportation.
physical manipulation — Physical loading of materials or equipment
Load materials or equipment.
#13901 · Core · 3% automatable
Attach pulleys and blocks to fixed overhead structures, such as beams, ceilings, and gin pole booms, using bolts and clamps.
physical manipulation — Physical rigging attachment
Attach rigging to objects so they can be moved.
#13899 · Core · 3% automatable
Fabricate, set up, and repair rigging, supporting structures, hoists, and pulling gear, using hand and power tools.
physical manipulation — Physical rigging attachment
Attach rigging to objects so they can be moved.
#13904 · Core · 10% automatable
Clean and dress machine surfaces and component parts.
physical manipulation — Cleaning parts for repair needs hands-on dexterity
Clean equipment, parts, or tools to repair or maintain them in good working order.
#13903 · Supplemental · 3% automatable
Install ground rigging for yarding lines, attaching chokers to logs and to the lines.
physical manipulation — Physical rigging attachment
Attach rigging to objects so they can be moved.
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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
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