As of June 2026, Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators has an AI-exposure score of 42/100 (Moderate exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.

AI Exposure Score for

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

42/100
Moderate exposure
LowModerateElevatedHighVery High

More exposed than 14% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$53,340. About 4,000 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).

Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.

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How you compare to similar Construction roles

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators (you)
42
Floor Sanders and Finishers
42
Roustabouts, Oil and Gas
42
Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas
42
Helpers--Extraction Workers
43
Boilermakers
43
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Your tasks, by AI exposure

Automatable

No automatable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (50%).

Augmentable
  • Control traffic.
  • Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.
  • Coordinate truck dumping.
  • Install dies, cutters, and extensions to screeds onto machines, using hand tools.
  • Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
  • Control paving machines to push dump trucks and to maintain a constant flow of asphalt or other material into hoppers or screeds.
  • Drive machines onto truck trailers, and drive trucks to transport machines and material to and from job sites.
  • Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.
  • Operate oil distributors, loaders, chip spreaders, dump trucks, and snow plows.
  • Drive and operate curbing machines to extrude concrete or asphalt curbing.
Durable
  • Cut or break up pavement and drive guardrail posts, using machines equipped with interchangeable hammers.
  • Shovel blacktop.
  • Operate tamping machines or manually roll surfaces to compact earth fills, foundation forms, and finished road materials, according to grade specifications.
  • Operate machines to spread, smooth, level, or steel-reinforce stone, concrete, or asphalt on road beds.
  • Set up forms and lay out guidelines for curbs, according to written specifications, using string, spray paint, and concrete or water mixes.
  • Operate machines that clean or cut expansion joints in concrete or asphalt and that rout out cracks in pavement.
  • Set up and tear down equipment.
  • Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.
  • Place strips of material, such as cork, asphalt, or steel into joints, or place rolls of expansion-joint material on machines that automatically insert material.
  • Inspect, clean, maintain, and repair equipment, using mechanics' hand tools, or report malfunctions to supervisors.

Safer adjacent roles

Construction Laborers
80% skills overlap · Low exposure · ~US$47,120
39
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
72% skills overlap · Moderate exposure · ~US$59,850
41
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
64% skills overlap · Moderate exposure · ~US$57,020
43
Segmental Pavers
56% skills overlap · Moderate exposure
41
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
48% skills overlap · Moderate exposure · ~US$57,430
41
Pile Driver Operators
40% skills overlap · Moderate exposure · ~US$73,300
43
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
40% skills overlap · Moderate exposure · ~US$70,070
44
Pipelayers
40% skills overlap · Low exposure · ~US$49,000
37

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Important: This is an estimate of AI exposure, not a prediction that your job will disappear. It is designed to help you understand how your role may change and improve your career resilience.