Career-PathGPS
← All education and training
Career

Carpenters

Typical education: High school diplomaHigh pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

Construct, erect, install, or repair structures and fixtures made of wood and comparable materials, such as concrete forms; building frameworks, including partitions, joists, studding, and rafters; and wood stairways, window and door frames, and hardwood floors. May also install cabinets, siding, drywall, and batt or roll insulation. Includes brattice builders who build doors or brattices (ventilation walls or partitions) in underground passageways.

Kinds of work

  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $60,580 Median per year · $29.12/hr Most earn $40,410–$99,910

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Install rough door and window frames, subflooring, fixtures, or temporary supports in structures undergoing construction or repair.
  • Dig or direct digging of post holes and set poles to support structures.
  • Verify trueness of structure, using plumb bob and level.
  • Measure and mark cutting lines on materials, using a ruler, pencil, chalk, and marking gauge.
  • Select and order lumber or other required materials.
  • Shape or cut materials to specified measurements, using hand tools, machines, or power saws.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Rapid Growth

United States
4% more jobs by 2035, about as fast as average · about 62,800 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Self-employed (their own business)25.1%
  • Residential building construction22.7%
  • Nonresidential building construction12.3%
  • Drywall and insulation contractors3.7%
  • Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors2.2%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: High school diplomaExperience before this job: 1 to 2 years

Carpentry is an entry-level career: you can start with a high school diploma and learn most of the trade on the job. Most people take roughly 1 to 2 years of hands-on experience before they're working as a carpenter on their own.

  1. High school diploma

    4 years

    Finish high school, taking math and shop or woodworking classes where you can. This is the typical education needed to enter the field.

  2. Helper--Carpenters

    3 months to 1 year

    Start as a helper on job sites, carrying materials, measuring, cutting, and learning tools and safety from experienced carpenters. This builds the basic skills you need before doing the work yourself.

  3. Carpenter

    1-2 years of related experience before this job

    Once you can read plans, measure accurately, and build framing, stairs, doors, and trim with less supervision, you work as a carpenter on your own.

Where it can lead

  1. Carpenter Foreman

    Several years as a carpenter of experience first

    You lead a small crew, assign tasks, and check the quality of work on a job site, which means strong skills plus good communication.

  2. Construction Supervisor

    Several years in the trade, often including a foreman role of experience first

    You oversee whole projects, schedules, budgets, and several crews, so you need to know construction well and manage people and paperwork.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take shop, woodworking, or construction classesHands-on practice with saws, drills, and measuring tools gives you a head start on the basic skills carpenters use every day.
  • Take geometry and mathCarpenters use angles, fractions, and measurements constantly, so strong math makes learning on the job much easier.
  • Join a trade or building-related clubMost schools have clubs for building or career-tech skills where you can work on projects and meet people in the trades.
  • Get a summer or weekend job helping at a lumber yard or with a builderEven basic work like loading materials or cleaning up a site shows employers you're reliable and interested in the trade.
  • Practice reading simple drawingsLearning to read floor plans and measurements now will help you understand what carpenters build when you start working.

In college

  • Take a construction technology or carpentry course at a community collegeMany community colleges offer classes in framing, building codes, and blueprint reading that prepare you for job-site work.
  • Apply for a carpentry apprenticeshipApprenticeships combine paid on-the-job training with classroom learning, which is a common way into this trade.
  • Work a campus maintenance or facilities jobHelping with repairs, building upkeep, or set-up work gives you hands-on experience and a reference for future jobs.
  • Earn a basic job-site safety certificationShort construction safety courses show employers you understand the hazards of building work, which many companies look for.
  • Take a drafting or blueprint reading classUnderstanding plans and drawings is a core skill for carpenters, and it can help you move into supervisor roles later.

Tips for getting started

  • Ask local builders, lumber yards, or contractors whether they hire summer helpers or part-time workers. Real job-site time is the fastest way to learn.
  • Look into apprenticeship programs through local unions or trade groups. Many carpenters learn this way while getting paid, and they're worth asking about in your area.
  • Learn basic tool and job-site safety early. Employers value workers who are careful, reliable, and show up ready to work.

Related jobs that often lead here

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

  • Carpenters Certificate: typical pay 1 year after finishing $35,631 a year · typical debt $9,738

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

Related careers