# Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers

> Position and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.

- **SOC code:** 47-2171.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-2171-00
- **Also known as:** Iron Installer, Iron Worker, Ironworker, Rodbuster, Field Ironworker, Reinforced Ironworker, Rodman, Steel Tier
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Determine quantities, sizes, shapes, and locations of reinforcing rods from blueprints, sketches, or oral instructions.
- Space and fasten together rods in forms according to blueprints, using wire and pliers.
- Position and secure steel bars, rods, cables, or mesh in concrete forms, using fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, or hand tools.
- Place blocks under rebar to hold the bars off the deck when reinforcing floors.
- Cut rods to required lengths, using metal shears, hacksaws, bar cutters, or acetylene torches.
- Cut and fit wire mesh or fabric, using hooked rods, and position fabric or mesh in concrete to reinforce concrete.
- Bend steel rods with hand tools or rod-bending machines and weld them with arc-welding equipment.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Unload rebar from trucks.
- Use forklifts or cranes to move construction material, such as rebar.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Building and Construction _(knowledge)_
- Static Strength _(ability)_
- Trunk Strength _(ability)_
- Multilimb Coordination _(ability)_
- Manual Dexterity _(ability)_
- Arm-Hand Steadiness _(ability)_
- Extent Flexibility _(ability)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- Stamina _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Administration and Management _(knowledge)_
- Design _(knowledge)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Finger Dexterity _(Common Skill)_
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Depth Perception _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Application Software SHEAR
- Applied Systems Associates aSa Rebar
- OTP ArmaCAD
- RebarWin

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 7th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 0th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 19th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 13th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 78th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 4.6% growth (About average); 1.5k annual openings; 19.4k → 20.3k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $59,280; 14,140 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-2171-00_