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Model Makers, Wood

Typical education: High school diplomaLower pressure

What they do

Construct full-size and scale wooden precision models of products. Includes wood jig builders and loft workers.

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.
  • Artistic: Creating, designing and expressing ideas through art, writing, music or performance.

Lower 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 $56,550 Median per year · $27.19/hr Most earn $34,800–$98,050

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Construct wooden models, patterns, templates, full scale mock-ups, and molds for parts of products and production tools.
  • Set up, operate, and adjust a variety of woodworking machines such as bandsaws and planers to cut and shape sections, parts, and patterns, according to specifications.
  • Select wooden stock, determine layouts, and mark layouts of parts on stock, using precision equipment such as scribers, squares, and protractors.
  • Plan, lay out, and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products.
  • Maintain pattern records for reference.
  • Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.

Job outlook

United States
3% fewer jobs by 2035, declining · about 100 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)61.7%
  • Furniture and related product manufacturing19.8%
  • Federal government, excluding postal service7.9%

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

Model making for wood usually isn't a first job straight out of school. Most people build 1 to 2 years of general woodworking experience before they start building wooden product models, and a high school diploma is the usual education.

  1. High school diploma

    4 years

    Build a base in math, shop or woodworking classes, and drafting or CAD, since model makers measure carefully and often work from technical drawings.

  2. Cabinetmaker or Bench Carpenter

    6 months to 2 years

    Learn to cut, join, and finish wood to precise measurements in a shop, which builds the hands-on skill model making depends on.

  3. Model Maker, Wood

    Career entry after about 1 to 2 years of prior experience

    Build full-size and scale wooden models of products, using your precision woodworking skills to turn designs into physical prototypes.

Where it can lead

  1. Patternmaker, Wood

    2 to 4 years of experience first

    You would make wooden patterns used to shape metal or other parts in casting, which requires more advanced skill and usually more experience in the model shop.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take shop or woodworking classesHands-on practice with saws, planes, and joinery builds the precision skills this career needs.
  • Take drafting or CAD classesReading and making technical drawings helps you understand the designs model makers build from.
  • Take math, especially geometryMeasuring, angles, and scale work are a big part of making accurate models.
  • Join a robotics, engineering, or design clubTeamwork on building projects gives you experience turning ideas into physical objects.
  • Find a part-time or summer job at a lumber yard, furniture shop, or carpentry businessStarting early gets you real workplace experience and a sense of how a wood shop runs.

In college

  • Take industrial design, engineering technology, or woodworking coursesThese classes teach how products are designed and built, which helps you make accurate models.
  • Get an internship at a furniture, product design, or prototyping companyWorking on real prototypes gives you the hands-on experience employers look for.
  • Take a campus job in a makerspace, wood shop, or fabrication labRegular shop work builds your skills and your record of precise, reliable work.
  • Build a portfolio of wooden models or projectsPhotos and descriptions of your work show employers what you can make.
  • Earn a woodworking or cabinetmaking certificate if your school offers oneA certificate can show formal training in wood construction and tools.

Tips for getting started

  • Take shop or woodworking classes and keep a portfolio of your projects with photos, since employers often want to see your precision work.
  • Look for part-time or summer jobs at cabinet shops, furniture makers, or carpentry businesses to start building the 1 to 2 years of experience this career usually asks for.
  • Practice reading blueprints and working to exact measurements, because accuracy is the main skill this job depends on.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

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

  • Woodworking Certificate: typical pay 1 year after finishing $24,988 a year

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

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