Pipelayers
Lay pipe for storm or sanitation sewers, drains, and water mains. Perform any combination of the following tasks: grade trenches or culverts, position pipe, or seal joints.
33,050 people do this job in the US. $49,000 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 0%
- 0%
- 100%
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, 0%. Today's estimate: 0%.
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 . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Install or repair sanitary or stormwater sewer structures or pipe systems.Done daily by most who do it. | 20% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Dig trenches to desired or required depths, by hand or using trenching tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 15% | 1.7 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Lay out pipe routes, following written instructions or blueprints and coordinating layouts with supervisors.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate mechanized equipment, such as pickup trucks, rollers, tandem dump trucks, front-end loaders, or backhoes.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Cover pipes with earth or other materials.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Grade or level trench bases, using tamping machines or hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Train or supervise others in laying pipe.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Align and position pipes to prepare them for welding or sealing.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Install or use instruments such as lasers, grade rods, or transit levels.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Connect pipe pieces and seal joints, using welding equipment, cement, or glue.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Cut pipes to required lengths.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Tap and drill holes into pipes to introduce auxiliary lines or devices.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.1 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
- Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters0% now, 0% by 2028
- Construction Laborers2% now, 2% by 2028
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners6% now, 6% by 2028
- Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall2% now, 2% by 2028
- Insulation Workers, Mechanical17% now, 19% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).