Skilled Trades
Industrial Pipefitter
High-stakes systems need trusted hands.
AI Risk Score: 3/10
Score is our body/liability/scarcity rubric, calibrated against public AI-exposure research.
What you actually do
Build and maintain high-pressure piping systems in energy, manufacturing, and petrochemical facilities.
Why AI does not easily replace it
Precision fabrication and safety-critical site execution are difficult to automate end-to-end.
What it pays
$54,000 - $93,000
BLS OOH: Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (closest national benchmark) — Proxy benchmark used for industrial pipefitter compensation context.
How to get in
Union apprenticeship + weld and safety certs.
Where demand is growing
Steady in industrial regions with cyclical but resilient hiring.
"The moat is not a prompt. It is responsibility in the real world."