Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators vs Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors AI Risk

Job 1

Job 2

Job 1

Job 2

low risk

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

51 shared · 10 different

core competencies

medium risk

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

Side-by-Side Comparison

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators leads 5–0

Metric	Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators	Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
Risk Score	18.1%	27.0%
Risk Tier	Low Risk	Medium Risk
Risk Percentile	4th	25th
Tasks at Risk (>50%)	0 / 15	4 / 15
Median Salary	$51,650	$48,350
Employment	46K	139K

Skill Comparison

Sorted by largest difference

Customer and Personal Service

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information

Administration and Management

Performing General Physical Activities

Training and Teaching Others

Transportation

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards

MathematicsAI-Vulnerable

Problem Sensitivity

Protective Factors

Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

25%

total discount

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

27%

total discount

Task Risk Comparison

Tasks sorted by AI automation risk — higher means more automatable

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

0 of 15 at risk

45%Light burners or start heating units of machines, and regulate screed temperatures and asphalt flow rates.

41%Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.

39%Observe distribution of paving material to adjust machine settings or material flow, and indicate low spots for workers to add material.

39%Fill tanks, hoppers, or machines with paving materials.

37%Shovel blacktop.

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

4 of 15 at risk

86%Fill out defective equipment reports.

73%Organize schedules for refuse collection.

59%Operate equipment that compresses collected refuse.

55%Check road or weather conditions to determine how routes will be affected.

49%Operate automated or semi-automated hoisting devices that raise refuse bins and dump contents into openings in truck bodies.

Wage Comparison

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors earns -$3,300(-6%) vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsRefuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

10th

$38,030$31,810

25th

$44,740$38,330

Median

$51,650$48,350

75th

$66,060$61,010

90th

$90,110$75,200

Premium Head-to-Head Analysis

Displacement Timeline Comparison

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators2028–2035

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors2028–2035

20242030203520402045

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors.

Risk-Adjusted Salary

Salary weighted by displacement risk: salary × (1 − risk%)

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

$42,301

from $51,650

Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

$35,310

from $48,350

After adjusting for AI risk, Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators offers $6,991 more in risk-adjusted pay.

Transition Feasibility

Skill Overlap

Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition

Unique to Paving,

Unique to Refuse

Combined Protection Strategy

Regardless of which path you choose, focus on these protective factors

Regulatory Barriers

Social Intelligence

Creativity

Decision Complexity

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsRefuse and Recyclable Material Collectors

Find transitions from Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators Find transitions from Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors