Will AI replace elevator and escalator installers and repairers?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 8h (100%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 5.7% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

Not in workplaces like this one, based on a 2026 review of robot deployments. 8 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 9 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

8h of a typical shift, or 100%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters. (1h 14m a shift)
• Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring. (1h 2m a shift)
• Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly. (49m a shift)
• Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment. (49m a shift)
• Adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings. (49m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 100% use their hands on tools, objects or controls more than half the time
• 97% carry high or very high responsibility for other workers' safety
• 95% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important

On Indeed, job postings in the Construction sector are at 129% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 6.4% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 1,900 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $109,910 a year ($52.84 an hour), 116% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $59,270 and $158,890 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 5.7% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 26,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 1,900 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 24,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.02% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 514th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 26,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a high school diploma: about 47% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 3 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: vocational school or associate's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Installation, Repairing, Equipment Maintenance, Troubleshooting
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 8h of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Solar Photovoltaic Installers (12m touched, $53k median pay)
• Rail Car Repairers (0m touched, $68k median pay)
• Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (47m touched, $64k median pay)
• Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics (0m touched, $66k median pay)
• Maintenance and Repair Workers, General (11m touched, $50k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 20 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.