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Boilermakers vs Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Boilermakers and Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Boilermakers Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$73,340
$39,270
Employment · BLS OEWS
10,170
43,640
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
7th pct
14th pct

At a glance

Dimension Boilermakers Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Median pay $73,340 $39,270
Employment 10,170 43,640
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-2.4%) About average (+4.9%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 800 4,900
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 7th pct Low · 14th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 35th pct · 21% of tasks 2nd pct · 9% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Mechanical, Control Precision, Near Vision, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity, Multilimb Coordination, Critical Thinking, Inductive Reasoning, English Language, Mathematics, Oral Comprehension, Active Listening, Active Learning, Monitoring, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Oral Expression, Information Ordering, Category Flexibility, Visualization, Selective Attention.

Specific to Boilermakers

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Equipment Maintenance
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Speaking

Specific to Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

  • Building and Construction
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Trunk Strength
  • Extent Flexibility
  • Administration and Management
  • Static Strength
  • Speech Recognition
  • Design

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Word processing software .

Specific to Boilermakers

Specific to Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

    Full profiles

    This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Boilermakers or Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

    More comparisons

    Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

    Sources for this page

    Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

    Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

    Cite this page
    Plain

    Singulariki. "Boilermakers vs Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/boilermakers-vs-helpers-pipelayers-plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters

    APA

    Singulariki. (2026). Boilermakers vs Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/boilermakers-vs-helpers-pipelayers-plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters

    BibTeX 
    @misc{singulariki-boilermakers-vs-helpers-pipelayers-plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters,
  title  = {Boilermakers vs Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/boilermakers-vs-helpers-pipelayers-plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters}
}

    Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.