---
title: "Will AI Replace Sheet Metal Workers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates sheet metal workers' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+2.5% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-sheet-metal-workers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Sheet Metal Workers? (2026)

**Short answer:** Very unlikely. BLS rates sheet metal workers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places sheet metal workers in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +2.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 9,800 openings a year.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 70/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +2.5% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 9,800 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $61,800 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low (this job) | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Coaching and developing others: 4.2/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships: 4.3/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Hands-on work with tools and objects: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Resolving conflicts and negotiating with others: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

- Documenting/recording information: 3.9/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Getting information: 4.7/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Evaluating information to determine compliance with standards: 4.1/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)
- Repetitive motions: 4.0/5 (O\*NET work context)

## O\*NET tasks

- Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
- Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions.
- 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.
- Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
- Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
- Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.

## Related careers that are also low-exposure

- [Derrick Operator, Oil and Gas](https://nuecareer.com/careers/derrick-operator-oil-and-gas): BLS exposure Low, median $58,620
- [Earth Driller, Except Oil and Gas](https://nuecareer.com/careers/earth-driller): BLS exposure Low, median $60,190
- [Roofer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/roofer): BLS exposure Low, median $55,440; [Will AI replace roofers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-roofers)
- [Service Unit Operator, Oil and Gas](https://nuecareer.com/careers/service-unit-operator-oil-and-gas): BLS exposure Low, median $58,160

## FAQ

**Will AI replace sheet metal workers?**

Very unlikely. BLS rates sheet metal workers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +2.5% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 9,800 openings a year.

**How exposed are sheet metal workers to AI?**

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Sheet Metal Workers are in the low category, alongside 202 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

**What parts of a sheet metal worker's job can AI do?**

In O\*NET's description of the work, the parts that overlap most with what AI handles well are documenting/recording information, getting information and evaluating information to determine compliance with standards. The parts that hold up best are coaching and developing others, establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships and hands-on work with tools and objects. These come from O\*NET ratings of how important each activity is to the job, read through NueCareer's AI-resilience method.

**Is being a sheet metal worker a safe career from AI?**

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O\*NET work activities, sheet metal workers score 70 out of 100, higher than 97% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $61,800 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

**What careers similar to sheet metal workers are less exposed to AI?**

Derrick Operator, Oil and Gas (low exposure, $58,620 median), Earth Driller, Except Oil and Gas (low exposure, $60,190 median), Roofer (low exposure, $55,440 median), Service Unit Operator, Oil and Gas (low exposure, $58,160 median). Each is also in the low category, and most are listed by O\*NET as related to the work.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/sheet-metal-worker.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology