Will AI replace plasterers and stucco masons?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 1h 11m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by robots. The other 6h 49m (85%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 2.8% 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.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 3 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 1h 11m of a typical shift. 8 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 3 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Mix mortar and plaster to desired consistency or direct workers who perform mixing. (41m a shift; e.g. Knauf PFT G 4 mixing pump (and silo/SILOMAT feed), in use)
• Spray acoustic materials or texture finish over walls or ceilings. (18m a shift; e.g. Okibo EG7, in use)
• Rough the undercoat surface with a scratcher so the finish coat will adhere. (12m a shift; e.g. Okibo EG7 (and earlier EP-1000) autonomous finishing robot, in use)

6h 49m of a typical shift, or 85%, 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:

• Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns. (1h 35m a shift)
• Apply weatherproof, decorative coverings to exterior surfaces of buildings, such as by troweling or spraying on coats of stucco. (1h 23m a shift)
• Clean and prepare surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping. (47m a shift)
• Clean job sites. (30m a shift)
• Create decorative textures in finish coat, using brushes or trowels, sand, pebbles, or stones. (30m 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% spend more than half the day on their feet
• 99% use their hands on tools, objects or controls more than half the time
• 78% work at arm's length or closer to other people

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 1,500 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 $57,660 a year ($27.72 an hour), 13% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $39,560 and $96,710 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 2.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 24,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 1,500 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 19,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 558th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 24,000 in 2035.

The most common requirement is less than a high school diploma: about 68% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 1 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: little or no preparation. 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: Quality Control Analysis, Time Management, Active Listening
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 6h 49m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Linux, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Word, Oracle Database

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. 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:

• Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall (0m touched, $49k median pay)
• Roofers (35m touched, $55k median pay)
• Floor Sanders and Finishers (0m touched, $50k median pay)
• Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers (41m touched, $57k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 3 with robots in real deployments, 12 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.