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Career Advice on How to Become a Carpenter

Carpenter Careers, General Information

Careers in carpentry consist of, one of the world’s oldest trades. This skilled trade involves working with wood and has long been a vital aspect of the housing and construction industry. What may surprise many people to learn about carpenter careers, is that carpenter jobs do not only include the building of homes, but are also employed in a surprisingly wide range of construction endeavors. These endeavors range from building homes and kitchen cabinets, to even working on highways, and bridges. Carpenter jobs are part of a key trade in society and without them the wheels of industry would quite literally stop turning.
 

Carpenter Jobs, Career Facts:

Few careers and trades are as ancient as that of carpentry careers. When performing a job search for a trade or skilled labor position, one simply must include carpenter jobs as an option in their construction career planning options. One surprising fact about carpenter jobs is that they do not simply work with wood, but instead work with a large array of materials including fiberglass and plastic. Much of a carpenter’s work will be spent using power and hand tools, such as saws and sanders.

 
A surprisingly large number of people working carpenter careers are actually self-employed (about one-third), making careers in carpentry attractive to those looking to be self-employed.
 

Carpenter Careers, Opportunities and Job Outlook-Good:

Carpentry jobs are in a trade that employs a great many individuals. As of 2006, there were roughly 1.5 million carpenter careers in the United States. By 2016, this number is expected to increase to roughly 1.6 million, which is approximately a ten-percent growth. While this growth is not explosive, it is decent. It should be noted that since carpenter careers are tightly linked to the health of the overall economy and the housing sector, any fluctuations in either could lead to unemployment amongst people working carpenters careers.
 
Job Outlook is Good
 

Carpenter Jobs, A Day in The Life:

Of course, everyone wants to play with a power saw. It is all “fun and games,” until someone cuts off a hand. Carpentry is not the most dangerous occupation in the world, but there are considerable risks in carpenter jobs, as the trade involves working with power tools and being on job sites.
 
Because the nature of the work in carpentry careers is so varied, a day on the job for carpenters can vary greatly from person to person. Most carpenters will find themselves working on job sites, especially in the construction industry. However, a carpenter working to build kitchen cabinets or custom furniture will have a very different carpenter job experience and job search experience.
 

Careers in Carpentry, Average Salary:

Salary varies within carpenter jobs, especially considering the type of work they are involved in. On average, an individual working a carpenter career can expect to earn about $17 per hour with the highest ten-percent earning as much as $30 per hour (about $60,000 per year.)

$35k - $60k

 

Carpentry Careers, Training and Qualifications:

Many carpenter careers begin with the prospective carpenter learning their trade while still in high school and carpenter apprentice programs after high school are very common. It is common for people working carpenter jobs to serve as apprentices at commercial and industrial companies. Most carpenter apprenticeships last approximately three to four years. In that time, new carpenters learn how to use the tools of the trade, such as operating various machines and the use of hand tools. Other skills are acquired as well, such as blueprint reading.
 
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