Elevator Installer

O*NET: Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers·47-4021.00

The Verdict:Elevator installation demands hands-on work in tight shafts — bolting rails, rigging cables, assembling cars with tools from scaffolding. No robotics handle variable building conditions or on-site adaptations. AI aids blueprint reading and reports, but core physical craft remains human. Licensing and steady urban growth bolster resilience over the next decade.

Resilience Score

/100

Resilient

Score tiers

Highly Resilient81–100

Resilient61–80

Moderate Risk41–60

High Risk21–40

Critical Risk0–20

How is this scored?

Task Resilience

How much of this role's daily work remains beyond AI and robotic automation.

30% of score

Physical Presence

The degree to which this job needs a human present — hands-on, in the field, or in the room.

20% of score

Human Necessity

How important the unique human edge is — for trust, accountability, or judgment.

15% of score

Regulatory Shield

How strong the legal requirement is for a human in this job (by law, licensing, or credentials).

13% of score

Technological Maturity

How far AI remains from performing this role's core functions.

10% of score

Displacement Evidence

The volume of jobs in this field being eliminated by AI or automation right now.

12% of score

Score last updated: February 2026Full methodology

Avg Salary

Median annual wage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 release.

$107k

Job Growth (10yr)

Projected change in total number of jobs (not salary) from 2024–2034. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections.

+5%

AI Exposure

Percentage of this role's analyzed tasks that AI can handle autonomously or nearly so. 1 of 20 tasks are classified as AI-exposed.

Low exposure

Task Analysis

This role's core work is hard to automate.
16 of 20 tasks require human judgment, presence, or trust. The 15% that are AI-leverage offer an edge — professionals who learn these tools will outperform those who don't.

1exposed

3AI leverage

16human-essential

View all 20 tasks

AI Can Handle This1 task

Tasks AI can do autonomously or nearly so

Maintain log books that detail all repairs and checks performed.

AI Leverage3 tasks

Master these tools — humans who do outperform those who don't

Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.

Read and interpret blueprints to determine the layout of system components, frameworks, and foundations, and to select installation equipment.

Participate in additional training to keep skills up to date.

Human Advantage16 tasks

Tasks requiring trust, presence, or novel judgment

Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.

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.

Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.

Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment.

Adjust safety controls, counterweights, door mechanisms, and components such as valves, ratchets, seals, and brake linings.

Connect car frames to counterweights, using steel cables.

Connect electrical wiring to control panels and electric motors.

Test newly installed equipment to ensure that it meets specifications, such as stopping at floors for set amounts of time.

Operate elevators to determine power demands, and test power consumption to detect overload factors.

Install electrical wires and controls by attaching conduit along shaft walls from floor to floor and pulling plastic-covered wires through the conduit.

Attach guide shoes and rollers to minimize the lateral motion of cars as they travel through shafts.

Install outer doors and door frames at elevator entrances on each floor of a structure.

Assemble elevator cars, installing each car's platform, walls, and doors.

Bolt or weld steel rails to the walls of shafts to guide elevators, working from scaffolding or platforms.

Assemble electrically powered stairs, steel frameworks, and tracks, and install associated motors and electrical wiring.

Cut prefabricated sections of framework, rails, and other components to specified dimensions.

Resilience Landscape

Elevator Installer lands in Stable & Well-Paid

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