BETA
Updated: Feb 6
BETA
Updated: Feb 6
Evolving
Last Update: 11/21/2025
Your role’s AI Resilience Score is
62.0%
Median Score
Changing Fast
Evolving
Stable
What does this resilience result mean?
These roles are shifting as AI becomes part of everyday workflows. Expect new responsibilities and new opportunities.
AI Resilience Report for
Sheet Metal Workers
They create and install metal parts for buildings, like roofs and air ducts, by cutting, bending, and shaping metal sheets.
Summary
The career of a sheet metal worker is labeled as "Evolving" because technology is increasingly being integrated into the field, with machines and software helping automate tasks like cutting and welding. However, many essential tasks still require human skills, such as making judgment calls, installing on-site, and designing custom solutions.
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View analysisChat with CoachLatest newsMore career infoSummary
The career of a sheet metal worker is labeled as "Evolving" because technology is increasingly being integrated into the field, with machines and software helping automate tasks like cutting and welding. However, many essential tasks still require human skills, such as making judgment calls, installing on-site, and designing custom solutions.
Read full analysisContributing Sources
AI Resilience
All scores are converted into percentiles showing where this career ranks among U.S. careers. For models that measure impact or risk, we flip the percentile (subtract it from 100) to derive resilience.
CareerVillage.org's AI Resilience Analysis
AI Task Resilience
Evolving30.6%
30.6%
Microsoft's Working with AI
AI Applicability
Stable85.5%
85.5%
Anthropic's Economic Index
AI Resilience
Stable99%
99%
Will Robots Take My Job
Automation Resilience
Evolving52.6%
52.6%
Medium Demand
Labor Market Outlook
We use BLS employment projections to complement the AI-focused assessments from other sources.
Learn about this scoreGrowth Rate (2024-34):
2.4%
Growth Percentile:
45.4%
Annual Openings:
10.6
Annual Openings Pct:
54.6%
Analysis of Current AI Resilience
Sheet Metal Workers
Updated Quarterly • Last Update: 11/22/2025
State of Automation & Augmentation
In modern shops many metalworking tasks already use computers and machines. For example, official sources note that large sheet‐metal factories often have computer-controlled saws, lasers, and presses that cut and bend metal automatically [1]. Workers in those shops routinely use design software (CAD/CAM) to turn blueprints into detailed plans [1] [2].
In one reported case, adding a robot to the welding line nearly tripled output in a metal fabrication shop [3]. These technologies augment the worker – humans still set up, program, and inspect the machines.
Other tasks remain mostly manual. Duties like choosing the right metal gauge or hauling parts to a construction site are done by people using experience and simple tools. The U.S. Labor Department’s profile of sheet metal work even lists “selecting types of sheet metal” and “lay[ing] out, measure[ing] and mark[ing]” by hand as core duties [1].
We found no evidence of AI systems fully replacing those. In short, routine cutting, bending, and welding in a controlled shop can be automated or assisted by robots and CNC machines [1] [3], but on-site installation, judgment calls, and custom adjustments still rely on human skill and supervision.
Sources
AI Adoption
Whether AI and robotics spread fast in this field depends on costs and needs. A sheet metal worker’s wage is about \$60,850 a year (2024 median) [1], so a company might invest in a machine that pays for itself over time. Indeed, manufacturers often see large productivity gains (the robot example showed a 200–600% boost in certain tasks [3]).
On the other hand, over half of sheet metal jobs are in small contractors, not big factories [1]. Small firms and construction sites have tight budgets and varied work, so they adopt new tech more slowly. Also, building‐site rules and safety considerations can make high-tech machines harder to use.
However, labor trends could push change. Industry analysts note a shrinking pool of skilled sheet-metal workers, so firms may eventually turn to automation out of necessity [4]. If factories can cut costs or meet demand with robots doing routine cutting or welding, they might invest more.
Even then, human strengths remain vital. Sheet metal work often involves complex problem-solving, design tweaks, and training others – areas where people still excel. In the end, young sheet metal workers can take comfort that while machines handle heavy or repetitive tasks, the skill, creativity and teamwork they bring will stay in demand [1] [3].
Sources
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More Career Info
Career: Sheet Metal Workers
Parent Careers
Employment & Wage Data
Median Wage
$60,850
Jobs (2024)
127,000
Growth (2024-34)
+2.4%
Annual Openings
10,600
Education
High school diploma or equivalent
Experience
None
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2024-2034
Task-Level AI Resilience Scores
AI-generated estimates of task resilience over the next 3 years
1
Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
2
Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.
3
Finish parts, using hacksaws or hand, rotary, or squaring shears.
4
Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
5
Shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools.
6
Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
7
Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
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.
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