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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters?
Task-level automation exposure for Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters: 23 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
23 of 23 tasks scored
Median Salary
$51,330 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
52,360 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
-6.2%
employment change
4,800 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 48 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$29,320 – $64,760
Highest medians
Maine $64,760
Alaska $63,420
Oregon $62,220
Massachusetts $62,040
Washington $61,850
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $29,320
Nevada $39,570
Arkansas $41,260
Mississippi $42,550
Hawaii $43,750
State figures come from the 51-2041 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 85%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 6%
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 17/100
Low
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
23 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%) 3%
1 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 91%
21 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 →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 08/2024 · Incumbent
Troubleshoot and repair electrical or mechanical equipment.
Constituent Tasks
#10036 · Core · 28% automatable
Verify conformance of workpieces to specifications, using squares, rulers, and measuring tapes.
physical manipulation — Hands-on dimensional measurement of workpieces
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
#10042 · Core · 73% automatable
Study engineering drawings and blueprints to determine materials requirements and task sequences.
information retrieval — Parse specs and materials from orders
Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements. Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
#10035 · Core · 6% automatable
Position, align, fit, and weld parts to form complete units or subunits, following blueprints and layout specifications, and using jigs, welding torches, and hand tools.
physical manipulation — Aligning parts for assembly needs hands and judgment
Operate welding equipment. Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly.
#10038 · Core · 17% automatable
Lay out and examine metal stock or workpieces to be processed to ensure that specifications are met.
visual inspection — Material product inspection is physical and sensory
Inspect metal, plastic, or composite products. Lay out parts to prepare for assembly.
#10037 · Core · 5% automatable
Tack-weld fitted parts together.
physical manipulation — Manual welding requires dexterity and live judgment
Operate welding equipment.
#10043 · Core · 10% automatable
Move parts into position, manually or with hoists or cranes.
physical manipulation — Rigging and lifting loads with cranes is hands-on
Lift materials or workpieces using cranes or other lifting equipment.
#10044 · Core · 12% automatable
Set up and operate fabricating machines, such as brakes, rolls, shears, flame cutters, grinders, and drill presses, to bend, cut, form, punch, drill, or otherwise form and assemble metal components.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Operate grinding equipment. Operate cutting equipment.
#10041 · Core · 5% automatable
Position or tighten braces, jacks, clamps, ropes, or bolt straps, or bolt parts in position for welding or riveting.
physical manipulation — Mounting workpieces is physical loading
Mount materials or workpieces onto production equipment.
#10053 · Core · 10% automatable
Lift or move materials and finished products, using large cranes.
physical manipulation — Rigging and lifting loads with cranes is hands-on
Lift materials or workpieces using cranes or other lifting equipment.
#10050 · Core · 5% automatable
Set up face blocks, jigs, and fixtures.
physical manipulation — Mounting tools requires hands-on setup
Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.
#10039 · Core · 6% automatable
Align and fit parts according to specifications, using jacks, turnbuckles, wedges, drift pins, pry bars, and hammers.
physical manipulation — Aligning parts for assembly needs hands and judgment
Align parts or workpieces to ensure proper assembly.
#10045 · Core · 8% automatable
Hammer, chip, and grind workpieces to cut, bend, and straighten metal.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Shape metal workpieces with hammers or other small hand tools. Operate grinding equipment.
#10040 · Core · 8% automatable
Locate and mark workpiece bending and cutting lines, allowing for stock thickness, machine and welding shrinkage, and other component specifications.
physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on
Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
#10051 · Core · 10% automatable
Remove high spots and cut bevels, using hand files, portable grinders, and cutting torches.
physical manipulation — Grinding requires hands-on control and feel
Smooth metal surfaces or edges. Operate grinding equipment.
#10046 · Core · 8% automatable
Smooth workpiece edges and fix taps, tubes, and valves.
physical manipulation — Hand finishing of metal edges with tools
Smooth metal surfaces or edges.
#10049 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Mark reference points onto floors or face blocks and transpose them to workpieces, using measuring devices, squares, chalk, and soapstone.
physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on
Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
#10047 · Supplemental · 38% automatable
Design and construct templates and fixtures, using hand tools.
visual inspection — Generates template designs; aesthetic fit needs human review
Design templates or patterns. Construct patterns, templates, or other work aids.
#10052 · Supplemental · 30% automatable
Direct welders to build up low spots or short pieces with weld.
interpersonal — Directing production operations is human supervisory authority
Direct operational or production activities.
#10054 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Heat-treat parts, using acetylene torches.
physical manipulation — Heating workpieces requires physical operation
Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.
#10048 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Straighten warped or bent parts, using sledges, hand torches, straightening presses, or bulldozers.
physical manipulation — Reshaping metal requires hands-on machining
Reshape metal workpieces to established specifications.
#10057 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Erect ladders and scaffolding to fit together large assemblies.
physical manipulation — Erecting temporary structures requires physical assembly
Assemble temporary equipment or structures.
#10055 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Preheat workpieces to make them malleable, using hand torches or furnaces.
physical manipulation — Heating workpieces requires physical operation
Heat material or workpieces to prepare for or complete production.
#10056 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Install boilers, containers, and other structures.
physical manipulation — Electromechanical assembly requires hands-on fitting
Assemble electromechanical or hydraulic systems.
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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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