Career
Sheet metal workers
Fabricate and install sheet metal, from ducts to roofs.
$61,800
Median pay
+2.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
9,800
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
- Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
- Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
- Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.
- Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
- Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
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 information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Coordination.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though apprenticeship is typical, for a median of $61,800 a year and 9,800 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Sheet Metal Technology/SheetworkingCIP 48.0506
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters$51,330 · -6.2%
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers$65,380 · -5.6%
- Structural Iron and Steel Workers$62,780 · +3.1%
- Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic$63,870 · -3.4%
- Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers$58,930 · +2.5%
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.