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Boston Career Explorer

Construction and Extraction

Pipelayers

Lay pipe for storm or sanitation sewers, drains, and water mains. Perform any combination of the following tasks: grade trenches or culverts, position pipe, or seal joints.

Also called: Pipelayer, Tailman

Median pay in Greater Boston
$72,070
$34.65/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
Not published
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−1.6%
10 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
No formal educational credential
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$51,120$63,180$72,070$86,560$87,260

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Grade or level trench bases, using tamping machines or hand tools.
  • Dig trenches to desired or required depths, by hand or using trenching tools.
  • Cut pipes to required lengths.
  • Install or use instruments such as lasers, grade rods, or transit levels.
  • Cover pipes with earth or other materials.
  • Connect pipe pieces and seal joints, using welding equipment, cement, or glue.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure8 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 9
  • Language-model AIOE 11
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 3

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

Pipelayers have lower AI exposure, and there is little or no observed AI use in this work so far. AI tools may help with planning grades and measurements. Digging trenches, cutting and placing pipe, and covering it up are physical tasks that rely on workers in the field.

Likely to change

  • Planning trench grades and measurements
  • Reading plans for pipe layout

Still relies on people

  • Digging and grading trenches on site
  • Cutting, placing, and covering pipe by hand

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

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    Using lasers, transits, and levels to check alignment carries over to steel work. The move offers an apprenticeship and Boston median pay of $120,840.

    Pay difference
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    High school diploma or equivalent

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  • Glaziers

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    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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