Job Check
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fireproofing, or acoustical material.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 02Measure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 03Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.Mostly human for now
- 04Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.Mostly human for now
- 05Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.Mostly human for now
- 06Measure and cut openings in panels or tiles for electrical outlets, windows, vents, plumbing, or other fixtures, using keyhole saws or other cutting tools.Mostly human for now
- 07Cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools.Mostly human for now
- 08Cut fixture or border tiles to size, using keyhole saws, and insert them into surrounding frameworks.Mostly human for now
- 09Coordinate work with drywall finishers who cover the seams between drywall panels.Mostly human for now
- 10Trim rough edges from wallboard to maintain even joints, using knives.Mostly human for now
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job lossToo little dataNot enough work use was seen to measure. This does not mean the job is safe from AI.Anthropic, 2026
4%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 8% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 91% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.
- Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.
- Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.