Will structural steel workers be replaced by AI?
Updated
Structural steel workers score 15 of 100 for AI exposure. 88% of their task time still needs a person. AI speeds up the other 12%.
- 12% AI helps
- 88% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 89% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 19 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can't do any of them end to end yet. It speeds up 2 and leaves 17 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations, quantities, or sizes of materials required. AI can extract quantities from drawings; worker verifies on site. | 55% AI helps |
| Fabricate metal parts, such as steel frames, columns, beams, or girders, according to blueprints or instructions from supervisors. AI can help with shop fabrication programs and instructions; work stays physical. | 25% AI helps |
| Verify vertical and horizontal alignment of structural steel members, using plumb bobs, laser equipment, transits, or levels. Alignment checks use physical instruments on site. | 12% Needs a person |
| Assemble hoisting equipment or rigging, such as cables, pulleys, or hooks, to move heavy equipment or materials. Rigging setup is physical, with minor planning help from AI. | 10% Needs a person |
| Insert sealing strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, gauges, or valves, depending on types of structures being assembled. Installing sealing strips, valves, and wiring is hands-on. | 10% Needs a person |
| Connect columns, beams, and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors. Physical bolting of beams and columns on site. | 8% Needs a person |
| Hoist steel beams, girders, or columns into place, using cranes or signaling hoisting equipment operators to lift and position structural steel members. Crane lifting and positioning needs hands-on operation and signaling. | 8% Needs a person |
| Unload and position prefabricated steel units for hoisting, as needed. Unloading and positioning heavy units requires physical handling. | 8% Needs a person |
| Dismantle structures or equipment. Dismantling structures is physical and site-dependent. | 8% Needs a person |
| Bolt aligned structural steel members in position for permanent riveting, bolting, or welding into place. Physical bolting of members in position. | 5% Needs a person |
Show the other 9 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Fasten structural steel members to hoist cables, using chains, cables, or rope. Physically fastening members to hoist cables. | 5% Needs a person |
| Cut, bend, or weld steel pieces, using metal shears, torches, or welding equipment. Cutting and welding steel needs hands-on torch work. | 5% Needs a person |
| Erect metal or precast concrete components for structures, such as buildings, bridges, dams, towers, storage tanks, fences, or highway guard rails. Erecting components is physical work at height. | 5% Needs a person |
| Force structural steel members into final positions, using turnbuckles, crowbars, jacks, or hand tools. Forcing members with jacks and crowbars is physical. | 3% Needs a person |
| Pull, push, or pry structural steel members into approximate positions for bolting into place. Pushing and prying heavy steel is physical labor. | 3% Needs a person |
| Drive drift pins through rivet holes to align rivet holes in structural steel members with corresponding holes in previously placed members. Driving drift pins through holes is hands-on work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Place blocks under reinforcing bars used to reinforce floors. Placing rebar blocks is physical site work. | 3% Needs a person |
| Ride on girders or other structural steel members to position them, or use rope to guide them into position. Riding girders and guiding with rope is physical. | 2% Needs a person |
| Hold rivets while riveters use air hammers to form heads on rivets. Holding rivets with air hammers is hands-on work. | 2% Needs a person |
How structural steel workers compare
All occupations (923)
Construction and extraction (61)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $62,780 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 68,380 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +3.1% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Verify steel quantities against drawings on site
- Run takeoffs and quotes in cost estimating software
- Schedule erection sequences in project scheduling software
- Track member counts in inventory tracking software
- Align columns with laser equipment, transit, and plumb bob
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about structural steel workers and AI
Will AI replace structural steel workers?
Unlikely. About 1 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly reading blueprints for material quantities and sizes and fabricating metal parts from shop instructions. Raising, aligning, and bolting steel on site stays with people because it needs a person handling heavy members in the field.
Which tasks will AI take over for structural steel workers?
Reading blueprints to find material locations, quantities, and sizes carries an exposure score of 55, the highest on this job. AI can extract those quantities from drawings, and the worker then checks the counts on site. Fabricating beams and girders from shop instructions scores 25, with AI helping on the programs while the shaping work stays physical.
Which structural steel worker tasks stay with people?
Aligning members with plumb bobs, lasers, and transits scores 12, and bolting columns and beams scores 8. Alignment checks use physical instruments on site, and bolting needs hands on the steel. Forcing members into final position with jacks and crowbars scores 3, the lowest on the job, so it stays with the crew.
How can structural steel workers stay valuable?
Keep the field work sharp, such as aligning with laser equipment and rigging with cables, pulleys, and hooks, since those scores stay low. Learn cost estimating software and project scheduling software so you can check the quantities AI extracts before they reach the crew. Log site changes in Microsoft Outlook and track materials in inventory tracking software for the foreman.
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