Meter reader
Also called gas meter reader, water meter reader, smart meter reader
Meter readers visit residential and business or industrial buildings and facilities in order to note down the readings of the meters which measure gas, water, electricity and other utility uses. They forward the results to the client and to the supplier.
What you'd do
Meter readers and vending-machine collectors · ILO- Filling storage areas of vending machines and collecting money from their containers
- Collecting money from parking meters and similar coinboxes
- Reading electricity, gas or water meters and recording consumption
- Keeping records of merchandise distributed and money collected
- Proceeding along established routes to take readings of meter dials
- Verifying readings in cases where consumption appears to be abnormal, and record possible reasons for fluctuations
- Inspecting meters for unauthorized connections, defects and damage such as broken seals
- Mostly outdoors
- A mix of sitting and standing
- Lots of contact with people
- Good freedom to decide
- Usually 40 hours a week
- Deadlines now and then
- Some repetitive tasks
Will there be jobs?
Yes, good prospectsMany jobs will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
Below averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €700 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,000 (Denmark), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among elementary occupations in the EU, women earn 9% less per hour than men. Elementary occupations · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Basic schoolingMost people start with basic schooling and learn on the job.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
In some tasksAI could take on a large part of 1 of the 7 main tasks.
Average task score 0.38 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 7 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for meter readers and vending-machine collectors. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).