Career Atlas USA

Helpers--Carpenters

Median salary
$43,780
Average salary
$44,050
Employment
21,680
Projected growth
4.5% growth
Annual openings
2,700
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential

What Helpers--Carpenters Do

Help carpenters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 20242034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
1.8%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 2 of 5

Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed

Experience
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
Education
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Job training
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

  • Building and Constructionimportance 4.6/5
  • Mechanicalimportance 4.1/5
  • Mathematicsimportance 4.1/5
  • Transportationimportance 4.0/5
  • English Languageimportance 3.9/5
  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.5/5
  • Production and Processingimportance 3.3/5
  • Designimportance 3.3/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets4.8/5
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls4.7/5
  • Spend Time Standing4.6/5
  • Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable4.5/5
  • Contact With Others4.4/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

  • Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.0/5
  • Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.0/5
  • Equipment Selectionimportance 2.9/5
  • Operations Monitoringimportance 2.9/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.9/5
  • Time Managementimportance 2.9/5
  • Repairingimportance 2.6/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Other Software Used

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

  • Dependability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Cooperation
  • Cautiousness
  • Perseverance
  • Humility
  • Integrity

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

  • RealisticHigh
  • ConventionalMedium
  • SocialLow
  • EnterprisingLow
  • ArtisticLow
  • InvestigativeLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where helpers--carpenters make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Aguadilla, PR18.62× national avg
  2. 2Ponce, PR12.28× national avg
  3. 3San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR10.54× national avg
  4. 4Baton Rouge, LA5.17× national avg
  5. 5Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL4.93× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

See the full career path from Helpers--Carpenters

Full salary data & percentiles →Best states for this career →Highest-paying states →