Boilermakers
Construct, 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.
10,190 people do this job in the US. $76,410 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 3%
- 0%
- 97%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 3%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 18 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assemble large vessels in an on-site fabrication shop prior to installation to ensure proper fit.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 24% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 11% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Examine boilers, pressure vessels, tanks, or vats to locate defects, such as leaks, weak spots, or defective sections, so that they can be repaired.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Position, align, and secure structural parts or related assemblies to boiler frames, tanks, or vats of pressure vessels, following blueprints.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 6% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect assembled vessels or individual components, such as tubes, fittings, valves, controls, or auxiliary mechanisms, to locate any defects.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h38 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 2.5 h50 min to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Conduct pressure tests on vessels, such as boilers.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Bolt or arc weld pressure vessel structures and parts together, using wrenches or welding equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean pressure vessel equipment, using scrapers, wire brushes, and cleaning solvents.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters16% now, 24% by 2028
- Millwrights0% now, 0% by 2028
- Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters0% now, 0% by 2028
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers8% now, 9% by 2028
- Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators13% now, 22% by 2028
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers4% now, 4% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Utility System Construction2,130 people
- Building Equipment Contractors1,830 people
- Nonresidential Building Construction1,630 people
- Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3323 and 3324 only)840 people
- Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance740 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).