Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters
Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products.
- Median pay
- $46,680
- Doing it now
- 81,800
- By 2035
- Down 2.9%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
6,900 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.
- Verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications.
- Set up or operate machines, including power saws, jointers, mortisers, tenoners, molders, or shapers, to cut, mold, or shape woodstock or wood substitutes.
- Measure and mark dimensions of parts on paper or lumber stock prior to cutting, following blueprints, to ensure a tight fit and quality product.
- Reinforce joints with nails or other fasteners to prepare articles for finishing.
- Attach parts or subassemblies together to form completed units, using glue, dowels, nails, screws, or clamps.
- Establish the specifications of articles to be constructed or repaired, or plan the methods or operations for shaping or assembling parts, based on blueprints, drawings, diagrams, or oral or written instructions.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- WoodworkingSee 5 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Creative and expressive
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $46,680 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.