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Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Construction and Extraction · SOC 47-3015
0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$42,360
Median Annual Salary
Bright ↗
O*NET Outlook
9,200
Proj. Annual Openings
44,330
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-4.5%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 47-3015 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 60/100
- High friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $42,360
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 9,200
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +4.9%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 11,470 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Active ListeningCritical ThinkingMonitoringJudgment and Decision MakingCoordination
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure1.2%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
7.9%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI0%
AI ability · AIOE23.6%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne57%
Top Skills
1.Active Listening
2.Critical Thinking
3.Monitoring
4.Judgment and Decision Making
5.Coordination
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Common titles: Plumber's Helper
Representative Tasks
- •Measure, cut, thread and assemble new pipe, placing the assembled pipe in hangers or other supports.
- •Cut or drill holes in walls or floors to accommodate the passage of pipes.
- •Perform rough-ins, repair and replace fixtures and water heaters, and locate, repair, or remove leaking or broken pipes.
- •Assist pipe fitters in the layout, assembly, and installation of piping for air, ammonia, gas, and water systems.
- •Cut pipe and lift up to fitters.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Install plumbing or piping.
- •Cut metal components for installation.
- •Maintain plumbing structures or fixtures.
- •Cut openings in existing structures.
- •Drill holes in construction materials.
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Excel · hotMicrosoft Office software · hotMicrosoft Word · hot
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
15
Occupations Shown
1.2%
Avg AI Exposure
12
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 47-3015: 2019 — employment: 58,400, median wage: $32,100; 2020 — employment: 55,740, median wage: $33,590; 2021 — employment: 45,930, median wage: $35,720; 2022 — employment: 46,760, median wage: $36,340; 2023 — employment: 45,300, median wage: $37,650; 2025 — employment: 44,330, median wage: $42,360.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 1.2% |
| Outlook | Bright ↗ | 70% Bright |
| Median Salary | $42,360 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |