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Solar Photovoltaic Installers

Occupation · SOC 47-2231.00

Assemble, install, or maintain solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on roofs or other structures in compliance with site assessment and schematics. May include measuring, cutting, assembling, and bolting structural framing and solar modules. May perform minor electrical work such as current checks.

Also called: PV Installer (Photovoltaic Installer) · Solar Installer · Solar PV Installer (Solar Photovoltaic Installer) · Solar PV Integrator (Solar Photovoltaic Integrator) · Journeyman Electrician PV Installer (Journeyman Electrician Photovoltaic Installer) · PV Installation Tech (Photovoltaic Installation Technician) · Solar Designer · Solar Electric Installer · Solar Panel Installation Technician (Solar Panel Installation Tech) · Solar Technician (Solar Tech) · Electro-Mechanical Solar Technician (Electro-Mechanical Solar Tech) · Installation Technician (Installation Tech)

Job family: Construction and Extraction Occupations

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Download .md

A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch /roles/role-47-2231-00/context.md directly.

AI work map

A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.

Use as a copilot

Task areas where people work with AI — iterating, learning, or checking — staying in the loop rather than handing the task off.

  • Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment. · 1.9%
  • Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations. · 0.5%
  • Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays. · 0.4%
See collaboration patterns →

Keep a human in the loop

Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.

  • Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations. · 92.0% need a human
  • Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment. · 89.5% need a human
  • Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays. · 87.8% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

32nd-percentile task overlap — yet about 4,100 openings a year (+42.1% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 4716% copilot, not hand-off (AEI) . What exposure means →

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

Measure Rank vs all occupations Percentile Score
Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Low 20th -0.9
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low 27th 0.2
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate 54th 0.2

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.1), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.2). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays. 0.4%
Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations. 0.3%
Determine connection interfaces for additional subpanels or for connecting photovoltaic (PV) systems with utility services or other power generation sources. 0.3%
Determine appropriate sizes, ratings, and locations for all system overcurrent devices, disconnect devices, grounding equipment, and surge suppression equipment. 0.3%
Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment. 0.3%
Determine materials, equipment, and installation sequences necessary to maximize installation efficiency. 0.2%

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

Outlook Growing fast · +42.1% by 2034
Projected annual openings 4,100
Employment 2024 → 2034 28,600 → 40,600

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international 2 occupations below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

16% mean task exposure (2025)
20th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+1 pts shift 2023 → 2025
International occupation (ISCO-08) Task exposure (2025) Most tasks fall in
Building and Related Electricians · 7411 19% Not exposed
Building Frame and Related Trades Workers Not Elsewhere Classified · 7119 9% Not exposed

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Working with AI in this job

How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.

Augmentation vs. automation 47.2% working with AI · 27.7% handed to AI
Most common way people use AI here Learning · you ask AI to explain or teach
Typical AI autonomy 4.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently
Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) 61.4%

What people delegate to AI

The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.

Task How Usage
Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment. Learning 1.9%
Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations. Iteration 0.5%
Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays. Iteration 0.4%

Where a human is still needed

Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.

Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations. 92.0%
Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment. 89.5%
Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays. 87.8%

What people most often hand AI here

Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.

  • Help me measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment.

    From: Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment. · 1.9% of measured AI use · learning

  • Help me check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations.

    From: Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations. · 0.5% of measured AI use · task iteration

  • Help me identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.

    From: Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays. · 0.4% of measured AI use · task iteration

Tasks

All 26 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

Work activities

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

Building and Construction 4.8
Engineering and Technology 4.4
Mechanical 4.3
Design 4.1
Administration and Management 4.1
Customer and Personal Service 4.0
Mathematics 4.0
Public Safety and Security 3.8
Education and Training 3.7
Production and Processing 3.4
English Language 3.3
Computers and Electronics 3.1

Abilities

Problem Sensitivity 3.8
Near Vision 3.8
Visualization 3.6
Information Ordering 3.4
Oral Comprehension 3.3
Deductive Reasoning 3.3
Arm-Hand Steadiness 3.3
Manual Dexterity 3.3
Finger Dexterity 3.3
Oral Expression 3.1
Perceptual Speed 3.1
Multilimb Coordination 3.1
Static Strength 3.1
Trunk Strength 3.1
Extent Flexibility 3.1

Transferable skills

Installation 3.4
Operations Monitoring 3.1
Quality Control Analysis 3.1
Judgment and Decision Making 3.1
Coordination 3.0
Complex Problem Solving 3.0
Troubleshooting 3.0
Time Management 3.0

Essential skills

Critical Thinking 3.3
Active Listening 3.1
Monitoring 3.1
Reading Comprehension 3.0
Active Learning 3.0

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

Tools & technology

Example Category
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Office software Office suite software Hot technology In demand
Extensible markup language XML Enterprise application integration software Hot technology
Microsoft Outlook Electronic mail software Hot technology
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology
Salesforce software Customer relationship management CRM software Hot technology
Cost estimating software Project management software
Work scheduling software Calendar and scheduling software

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.9
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 4.8
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.8
Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions 4.7
Telephone Conversations 4.6
Exposed to High Places 4.5
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 4.5
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.4
Health and Safety of Other Workers 4.3
Physical Proximity 4.3
Contact With Others 4.3
Spend Time Standing 4.3
Exposed to Hazardous Conditions 4.3
Exposed to Hazardous Equipment 4.2
Freedom to Make Decisions 4.2
In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment 4.2
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 4.2
Frequency of Decision Making 4.2
Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures 4.1
Spend Time Keeping or Regaining Balance 4.1
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 4.1
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 4.1
Consequence of Error 4.0
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 4.0
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 4.0
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled 3.9
Time Pressure 3.9
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 3.8
Conflict Situations 3.8
E-Mail 3.7
Outdoors, Under Cover 3.7
Exposed to Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions 3.7
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 3.6
Exposed to Extremely Bright or Inadequate Lighting Conditions 3.6
Spend Time Kneeling, Crouching, Stooping, or Crawling 3.6
Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body 3.5
Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection 3.5
Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings 3.5
Spend Time Climbing Ladders, Scaffolds, or Poles 3.4
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 3.3

How to get in

Job zone
Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Typical entry-level education
High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
Related experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Preparation level
SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Construction Trades , Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians , Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Post-Secondary Certificate 36.9%
High School Diploma 33.7%
Bachelor's Degree 13.9%
Less than a High School Diploma 11.0%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) 3.4%
Master's Degree 1.1%

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Realistic 7.0
Conventional 4.1
Investigative 2.6
Enterprising 1.7

Interest areas

Mechanics/Electronics 6.2
Physical/Manual Labor 5.9
Engineering 5.0
Construction/Woodwork 2.8
Mathematics/Statistics 2.3
Transportation/Machine Operation 2.1
Information Technology 1.8
Physical Science 1.7

Work styles

Dependability 3.0
Attention to Detail 2.4
Cautiousness 2.4
Integrity 1.7

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$39k10th$46k25th$52kMedian$63k75th$80k90th
Annual wages by percentile — U.S. (BLS OEWS). The light band spans the 10th–90th percentile; the darker band is the middle half (25th–75th); the line is the median.
29k202441k2034 (proj.)+42.1% · Growing fast
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $39,070
25th percentile $46,040
Median (50th) $51,860
75th percentile $63,020
90th percentile $80,150
People employed 28,280

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Industry Workers National median pay
Construction · Sector 17,730 $58,460
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors · National industry 12,500 $59,130
Utilities · Sector 3,630 $50,120
Solar Electric Power Generation · National industry 3,390 $49,300
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors · National industry 2,180 $61,140
Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction · National industry 1,440 $50,960
Wholesale Trade · Sector 410 $55,160
Wind Electric Power Generation · National industry 200 $69,340
Roofing Contractors · National industry 190 $57,920
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 100 $64,470
Manufacturing · Sector 80 $57,030
Engineering Services · National industry — $65,890

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Industry Concentration Workers
Solar Electric Power Generation · National industry 1324.93× 3,390
Wind Electric Power Generation · National industry 109.81× 200
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors · National industry 63.56× 12,500
Utilities · Sector 34.16× 3,630
Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction · National industry 33.53× 1,440
Construction · Sector 11.9× 17,730
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors · National industry 9.38× 2,180
Roofing Contractors · National industry 4.17× 190

Part of the Construction and Energy & Natural Resources career clusters.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay Solar Photovoltaic Installers sits at the 32nd percentile of AI task-overlap and the 36th percentile of median pay, placed here against 12 adjacent occupations on the same two axes. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Solar Photovoltaic Installers Solar Thermal Installers and Technicians Maintenance and Repair Workers, General Hydroelectric Plant Technicians Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment Solar Energy Installation Managers Lighting Technicians Electrical Engineers AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
AI task-overlap percentile (horizontal) vs. median-pay percentile (vertical), across all scored occupations. This occupation is highlighted; related occupations are plotted alongside it. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation.

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Solar Photovoltaic Installers — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Skills that travel

Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.

Adjacent roles

Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.

Paths in

How people typically prepare for this work.

Zoom out

On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 20th percentile of 427 international occupations.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Solar Photovoltaic Installers show 32nd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 4,100 annual U.S. openings

  • Solar Photovoltaic Installers rank in the 32nd percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
  • The occupation is projected to see about 4,100 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+42.1%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $51,860, across about 28,280 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 47% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census.2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2
Copy the whole kit
Solar Photovoltaic Installers show 32nd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 4,100 annual U.S. openings

• Solar Photovoltaic Installers rank in the 32nd percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE)
• The occupation is projected to see about 4,100 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+42.1%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $51,860, across about 28,280 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 47% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census. (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2)

Source: Singulariki — "Solar Photovoltaic Installers". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-2231-00
Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom

Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

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. "Solar Photovoltaic Installers." 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; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); 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; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-2231-00

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Solar Photovoltaic Installers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-2231-00

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-role-47-2231-00,
  title  = {Solar Photovoltaic Installers},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); 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; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-2231-00}
}

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

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