Explore by Career/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.
- Median pay
- $48,710
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -4.1%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- No formal educational credential
Key skills
- Operation and Control
- Active Listening
- Operations Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Quality Control Analysis
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
What they do
- Install or use instruments such as lasers, grade rods, or transit levels.
- Cut pipes to required lengths.
- Connect pipe pieces and seal joints, using welding equipment, cement, or glue.
- Cover pipes with earth or other materials.
- Install or repair sanitary or stormwater sewer structures or pipe systems.
- Align and position pipes to prepare them for welding or sealing.
- Check slopes for conformance to requirements, using levels or lasers.
- Lay out pipe routes, following written instructions or blueprints and coordinating layouts with supervisors.
- Operate mechanized equipment, such as pickup trucks, rollers, tandem dump trucks, front-end loaders, or backhoes.
- Grade or level trench bases, using tamping machines or hand tools.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.