Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks. May erect metal storage tanks and assemble prefabricated metal buildings.
68,380 people do this job in the US. $62,780 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 5%
- 0%
- 95%
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, 5%. Today's estimate: 5%.
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 . 20 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabricate metal parts, such as steel frames, columns, beams, or girders, according to blueprints or instructions from supervisors.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 28% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Erect metal or precast concrete components for structures, such as buildings, bridges, dams, towers, storage tanks, fences, or highway guard rails.Done daily by most who do it. | 27% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Connect columns, beams, and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Cut, bend, or weld steel pieces, using metal shears, torches, or welding equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 1.1 h17 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations, quantities, or sizes of materials required.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Assemble or inspect hoisting equipment or rigging, such as cables, pulleys, or hooks, to move heavy equipment or materials.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Dismantle structures or equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Unload and position prefabricated steel units for hoisting, as needed.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Force structural steel members into final positions, using turnbuckles, crowbars, jacks, or hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Bolt aligned structural steel members in position for permanent riveting, bolting, or welding into place.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Insert sealing strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, gauges, or valves, depending on types of structures being assembled.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Lift steel beams, girders, or columns using cranes or forklifts, or by signaling hoisting equipment operators to lift or position structural steel members.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | 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.
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).