Career
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers
Make and repair jewelry.
$52,540
Median pay
-3.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,700
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.
- Smooth soldered joints and rough spots, using hand files and emery paper, and polish smoothed areas with polishing wheels or buffing wire.
- Create jewelry from materials such as gold, silver, platinum, and precious or semiprecious stones.
- Cut and file pieces of jewelry such as rings, brooches, bracelets, and lockets.
- Examine assembled or finished products to ensure conformance to specifications, using magnifying glasses or precision measuring instruments.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then creation & expression?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Judgment and Decision Making.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though long-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $52,540 a year and 3,700 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Fine and Studio ArtsSee the degree →
- Watchmaking and JewelrymakingCIP 47.0408
- Jewelry ArtsCIP 50.0713
- Metal ArtsCIP 50.0714
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Gem and Diamond Workers
- Etchers and Engravers$43,310 · -0.7%
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand$42,660 · -19.2%
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic$46,170 · +5.8%
- Craft Artists$46,080 · +2.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.