Headline risk
3%
Very Low RiskSheet metal workers
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.
Task evidence
100% weighted task match · 0% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 60,850
Employment 2024
127.0K
Projected Change (2024–34)
2.4%
Openings (2024–34)
10.6K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Employment of sheet metal workers is projected to show little or no change from 2024 to 2034.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary. AI use: 0%
- 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. AI use: 0%
- 3. Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions. AI use: 0%
- 4. Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices. AI use: 0%
- 5. Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems. AI use: 0%
- 6. Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 42.3 · 148K employed
Under 25: 12% · 25–54: 66% · 55+: 22%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
crosswalk_exact · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Sheet metal workers fabricate or install products that are made from thin metal sheets.
Sheet metal workers often lift heavy materials and stand for long periods of time. Those who install sheet metal must often bend, climb, and squat. Most work full time.
Sheet metal workers employed in construction typically learn their trade through an apprenticeship. Those employed in manufacturing typically learn on the job or at a technical school.
The median annual wage for sheet metal workers was $60,850 in May 2024.
Employment of sheet metal workers is projected to show little or no change from 2024 to 2034.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.