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Boston Career Explorer

Construction and Extraction

Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workers

Lay out, cut, and place segmental paving units. Includes installers of bedding and restraining materials for the paving units.

Also called: Cutter, Paver, Paver Installer, Paver Layer, Paving Stone Installer, Segmental Wall Installer

Median pay in Greater Boston
$74,880
$36.00/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
720
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+4.8%
80 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Moderate-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
$53,460$59,280$74,880$81,070$98,190

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

What you’d do

  • Prepare base for installation by removing unstable or unsuitable materials, compacting and grading the soil, draining or stabilizing weak or saturated soils and taking measures to prevent water penetration and migration of bedding sand.
  • Supply and place base materials, edge restraints, bedding sand and jointing sand.
  • Discuss the design with the client.
  • Set pavers, aligning and spacing them correctly.
  • Sweep sand into the joints and compact pavement until the joints are full.
  • Screed sand level to an even thickness, and recheck sand exposed to elements, raking and rescreeding if necessary.

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 exposure23 of 100

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

  • AIOE 19
  • Language-model AIOE 21
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 30

Observed AI use today: Not published (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is lower. The main work is physical: preparing the ground, spreading sand and base materials, and setting and compacting pavers. AI tools may help a little with design talks and planning, but they do not lay or level the paving.

Likely to change

  • Sketching and sharing design ideas with clients
  • Estimating materials for a paving job

Still relies on people

  • Grading, compacting, and setting pavers by hand
  • Talking through design choices with clients

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.

  • Brickmasons and Blockmasons

    Laying out lines, keeping units level and spaced, and setting them by hand carry over to masonry, which pays more through an apprenticeship.

    Pay difference
    +$22,080 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +5.3%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles

    Careful fitting, cutting, and joining of surface materials carry over to floor laying, which has strong job growth and higher pay.

    Pay difference
    +$23,410 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +11.3%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

    Preparing and grading ground fits with installing underground piping, and plumbing offers higher pay through an apprenticeship.

    Pay difference
    +$21,880 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.5%
    To get started
    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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