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Pipelayers vs Structural Iron and Steel Workers

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

A factual, source-backed comparison of Pipelayers and Structural Iron and Steel Workers 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.”

Pipelayers Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$48,710
$62,700
Employment · BLS OEWS
33,580
64,720
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
8th pct
5th pct

At a glance

Dimension Pipelayers Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Median pay $48,710 $62,700
Employment 33,580 64,720
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-4.1%) About average (+4.4%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 2,400 5,500
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 · 8th pct Low · 5th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 18th pct · 15% of tasks 5th pct · 11% 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: Building and Construction, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Control Precision, Oral Comprehension, Static Strength, Operation and Control, Public Safety and Security, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Coordination, Operations Monitoring, Oral Expression, Problem Sensitivity, Information Ordering, Visualization, Selective Attention, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity, Multilimb Coordination, Rate Control, Reaction Time, Trunk Strength, Stamina, Extent Flexibility, Near Vision, Depth Perception, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Mechanical, Administration and Management, Deductive Reasoning, Far Vision.

Specific to Pipelayers

  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Time Management
  • Written Comprehension
  • Category Flexibility

Specific to Structural Iron and Steel Workers

  • Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Dynamic Strength
  • Mathematics
  • Auditory Attention
  • Hearing Sensitivity
  • Response Orientation
  • Gross Body Coordination

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

Specific to Pipelayers

Specific to Structural Iron and Steel Workers

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Pipelayers or Structural Iron and Steel Workers — 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. "Pipelayers vs Structural Iron and Steel Workers." 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/pipelayers-vs-structural-iron-and-steel-workers

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Pipelayers vs Structural Iron and Steel Workers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/pipelayers-vs-structural-iron-and-steel-workers

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-pipelayers-vs-structural-iron-and-steel-workers,
  title  = {Pipelayers vs Structural Iron and Steel Workers},
  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/pipelayers-vs-structural-iron-and-steel-workers}
}

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