Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

22% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): Jobs in this level have a limited risk of automation, as they demand a mix of technical and human-centric skills.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

User poll

Sentiment

The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters' was $61,550, or $29 per hour

'Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters' were paid 28.1% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

Comments

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Bms (Uncertain) 3 months ago

Because this is due to a lack of data gathering and fine tuning of the methods to gather the data necessary to automate the industry. It can be done within next 2 decades depending on corporate structure and goals in general.

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Daniel 4 months ago

I can see a robot doing new construction apartments where all the units are pretty much the same. But as for service work. No chance

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Captain box fan 5 months ago

About all it would be able to do is dig a trench for a repair or new installation on sewer lines. Other than that, I do not think it could handle the majority of the work. The cost to build it would outweigh its productivity over its lifespan.

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ilian (No chance) 6 months ago

a robot that will be able to preform the complex moovements required will cost more to make than it will produce troughout it's functioning

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Carl Wyatt (Low) 3 years ago

I can envisage machines installing plumbing and heating in new builds however most plumbing tasks such as repairs/maintenance or installations on old buildings require dexterity and flexibility which are difficult criteria's for machines to meet. I'm sure it'll be possible one day but I believe plumbing to be one of the last professions to be automated.

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Pierce (Low) 3 years ago

Robots can't think critically to solve unusual problems that are always guaranteed to happen.

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Frank (No chance) 3 years ago

How in the world, in the relatively near future, will automation enter a job site and set a toilet for example???? Ridiculous!!

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Elon Musk 3 years ago

The probability of a robot being able to diagnose a plumbing or drain issue and have the engineering benefit of that being in development is possibly more likely for new construction rather than residential services or retro construction in the next 30 if at all ever.

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Nathan Wood (Low) 3 years ago

Unless they are all pre fabricated buildings. No robot will be able to do repairs, fit in a crawl hole or remodel a home or office either.

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bringthon (No chance) 4 years ago

no chance lol forget it..

manual skilled jobs will be hard to replace but they will evolve

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lol (No chance) 4 years ago

I'm not sure if robot could do this correctly, or if it will be cheaper than from human beings

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Josh 4 years ago

I would have preferred a robot from 1994 than the spud who did my bathroom refurb!

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Andreas (Low) 4 years ago

In buildings or industrial facilities where there is a standardised infrastructure built with all used parts digitised in an archive, maybe. But everything with existing infrastructure needs the experience of humans to decide and take action. However, it would be awesome to have a robot with me at work doing stuff like heavy lifts, cleaning, carrying equipment and parts.

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Mister man (No chance) 4 years ago

While I understand the seemingly repetitive nature of pipe work, it strikes me as the sort of business that takes a lot more figuring than more repetitive work, such as cashiering

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Marty (No chance) 4 years ago

Are robots going to go into people's homes to deal with plumbing issues? I highly doubt it.

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Franklin (Low) 5 years ago

I think robots capable of this are decades away and when they do arrive it will probably be cheaper to hire a human.

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Phillip (No chance) 5 years ago

I just don't see how your gonna get a robot to come to a house, diagnose the plumbing issue and then perform the work to fix it. Thats a complex task and modern robots can still only reliably perform the simplest of tasks. The tech is a long ways away and even if it weren't I don't feel like replacing plumbers would the first thing on the agenda for that tech.

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Kenn 4 years ago

Well instead of the robot coming into houses it would be a robot per household capable of completing any plumbing, carpentry, pretty much any trade repair needed within that household. That robot would he owned by the family and essentially a crazy advanced butler. The tech is def not in the next decade but 15-30 years from now it's quite a possibility.

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Kenny (Low) 5 years ago

Would need very good robots to do this.

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