Mostly Resilient
Last Update: 8/30/2026
AI Resilience Score for Boilermakers:
52.3%
Median Score
Meaningful human contribution
Measures the parts of the occupation that still require a human touch. This score averages data from up to four AI exposure datasets, focusing on the role’s resilience against automation.
High
Long-term employer demand
Predicts the health of the job market for this role through 2034. Using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it balances projected annual job openings (60%) with overall employment growth (40%).
Low
Sustained economic opportunity
Measures future earning potential and career flexibility. This score is a blend of total projected labor income (67%) and the role’s inherent ability to adapt to economic and technological shifts (33%).
High
This reflects the reliability of your score based on the number of data sources available for this career and how closely those sources agree on the outlook. A higher confidence means more consistent evidence from labor experts and AI models.
Limited data sources are available, or existing sources show notable disagreement on the outlook for this occupation.
Contributing sources
AI Resilience Report forBoilermakers
$76,410 median salary•700 annual openings•SOC Code: 47-2011.00
Boilermakers are somewhat more resilient to AI impacts than most occupations, according to our analysis of 5 sources.
Boilermaking earns a "Mostly Resilient" label because the core of the job, fitting up massive pressure vessels, troubleshooting leaks, and working safely in tight or unpredictable spaces like refineries and power plants, still requires the kind of hands-on human judgment that AI simply cannot replicate. Some tasks are shifting, though: robotic welding cells and AI inspection tools are taking over repetitive shop welding and real-time quality checks, so boilermakers may do less of that specific work over time.
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Boilermaking earns a "Mostly Resilient" label because the core of the job, fitting up massive pressure vessels, troubleshooting leaks, and working safely in tight or unpredictable spaces like refineries and power plants, still requires the kind of hands-on human judgment that AI simply cannot replicate. Some tasks are shifting, though: robotic welding cells and AI inspection tools are taking over repetitive shop welding and real-time quality checks, so boilermakers may do less of that specific work over time.
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Boilermakers
Updated Quarterly
How is AI changing Boilermakers jobs?
Boilermaking is a hands-on trade, but AI is starting to show up in the parts of the job that involve inspection, measurement, and welding. In steel fabrication shops, AI-guided robotic arms with vision sensors now move along weld seams with sub-millimetre accuracy, automatically compensating for part-to-part variation, thermal distortion, and joint gaps, and modern six-axis welding cells can deliver deposition rates three to five times faster than a skilled manual welder while keeping defect rates below 1 percent [1]. For quality checks, AI inspection systems now analyze welds in real time against ISO 5817 quality levels, flagging porosity, undercut, and incomplete fusion as the weld is being made [1].
Companies like Kiwa are also using drones with ultrasonic thickness payloads and AI-powered defect annotation to inspect pressure vessels, tanks, and piping [2] — exactly the kind of work boilermakers do. Even finishing is being automated: a new AI-powered grinding robot can now autonomously prepare weld bevels on heavy plate [3]. Still, most boilermaker work happens at power plants, refineries, and construction sites — messy, one-off environments where AI mainly augments human welders rather than replacing them.
Sources
How fast is AI adoption growing for Boilermakers?
Adoption is being pushed hard by labor shortages. The American Welding Society estimates a U.S. shortage of roughly 400,000 welders, with the industry needing 320,500 new professionals by 2029 [1], and Deloitte reports that "equipping workers with the skills and knowledge they need to maximize the potential of smart manufacturing" [4] is the top concern for over a third of manufacturing executives. Manufacturing publications also frame automation as a retention tool, arguing that welding manipulators, cobots, and AI can ease fatigue and attract new talent rather than replace skilled workers [5].
Adoption will likely stay slower for field boilermakers than for shop welders because strict codes (ASME BPVC, AWS D1.1), unpredictable job sites, and confined-space repairs still require human judgment. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects boilermaker employment to decline 2 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 700 openings each year [6] — mostly from retirements. The good news: reading blueprints, troubleshooting leaks, and safely fitting up massive vessels are exactly the skills AI is worst at, so young boilermakers who learn to work with robotic welders and AI inspection tools will be especially valuable.
Sources
Will AI replace Boilermakers?
No. We don't think AI will replace Boilermakers, though we do expect the job to change.
That's the core of our 52.3% AI Resilience Score. AI is genuinely reshaping parts of this trade. Robotic welding cells can now run three to five times faster than a skilled manual welder while keeping defect rates below 1 percent [1], and AI inspection systems flag weld defects in real time against international quality standards [1]. Drones with ultrasonic sensors are even being used to inspect pressure vessels and tanks [2]. That's real change, and it's worth taking seriously.
But most boilermaker work happens at power plants, refineries, and construction sites: cramped, unpredictable environments where AI assists rather than replaces. Reading blueprints, troubleshooting leaks, and fitting up massive vessels under strict codes like ASME BPVC still require human judgment that AI simply doesn't have. The industry is also facing a serious labor shortage, with demand for hundreds of thousands of new welding professionals by 2029 [1], and many manufacturers see automation as a way to attract workers, not eliminate them [5].
Job openings are modest, around 700 per year mostly from retirements [6], so this isn't a booming field. But boilermakers who learn to work alongside robotic and AI tools will be the most valuable ones in the room.
Sources
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Latest AI news for Boilermakers
These articles highlight the evolving landscape for boilermakers in the age of AI. While "Will AI Replace Boilermakers? AI Risk Score: 82/100" suggests a significant risk of automation, others like "Will AI replace boilermakers?" emphasize that AI is enhancing job planning and inspection rather than outright replacing roles. The article on predictive maintenance shows how AI is revolutionizing boiler management, allowing boilermakers to focus on more complex tasks. This suggests that while AI may change some job aspects, there remains a strong need for skilled professionals who can adapt and leverage these new technologies.
Will AI Replace Boilermakers? AI Risk Score: 82/100
www.replacedbai.com • 8/20/2026
Boilermakers roles face significant AI replacement risk. With a risk score of 82/100, this occupation is in the high-danger zone for automation.
Artificial intelligence for control and optimization of boilers' ...
www.sciencedirect.com • 8/20/2026
by MA Nemitallah · 2023 · Cited by 98 — AI methods have been used to both monitor and control the boilers considering deep peak shaving operation such as support vector machine (Hong et al., 2022) ...
AI-Powered Predictive Maintenance for Boilers in ...
oxmaint.com • 8/20/2026
Jan 30, 2026 — AI-powered predictive maintenance transforms boiler management by analyzing real-time sensor streams to detect micro-anomalies—identifying tube ... Read more
Will AI replace boilermakers?
www.careerexplorer.com • 8/20/2026
AI won't replace boilermakers, but it's already changing how jobs get planned and inspected. inspection, design, and scheduling, $70/hr Growth
Will AI Replace Boilermaker Jobs?
jobzonerisk.com • 8/20/2026
AI monitors pressure, temperature, and corrosion. But boilermakers are too small (10,400 workers) for dedicated AI impact analysis. Aggregate manufacturing ...
More Career Info
Career: Boilermakers
They build and repair large containers like boilers and tanks, ensuring they safely hold gases and liquids used in factories and power plants.
Parent Careers
Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$76,410
Jobs (2025)
10,200
Growth (2025-35)
-1.8%
Annual Openings
700
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025-2035
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Repair or replace defective pressure vessel parts, such as safety valves or regulators, using torches, jacks, caulking hammers, power saws, threading dies, welding equipment, or metalworking machinery...
2
Straighten or reshape bent pressure vessel plates or structure parts, using hammers, jacks, or torches.
3
Install refractory bricks or other heat-resistant materials in fireboxes of pressure vessels.
4
Bell, bead with power hammers, or weld pressure vessel tube ends to ensure leakproof joints.
5
Install manholes, handholes, taps, tubes, valves, gauges, or feedwater connections in drums of water tube boilers, using hand tools.
6
Shape seams, joints, or irregular edges of pressure vessel sections or structural parts to attain specified fit of parts, using cutting torches, hammers, files, or metalworking machines.
7
Shape or fabricate parts, such as stacks, uptakes, or chutes, to adapt pressure vessels, heat exchangers, or piping to premises, using heavy-metalworking machines such as brakes, rolls, or drill press...
Tasks are ranked by their AI resilience, with the most resilient tasks shown first. Core tasks are essential functions of this occupation, while supplemental tasks provide additional context.
