Career Atlas USA

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Median salary
$52,540
Average salary
$57,960
Employment
22,440
Projected growth
5.5% decline
Annual openings
4,000
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent

What Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers Do

Design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 20242034.

Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
Long-term on-the-job training
Self-employed
33.9%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 3 of 5

Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
Education
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Job training
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

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

  • Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.3/5
  • Designimportance 4.0/5
  • Production and Processingimportance 3.9/5
  • Sales and Marketingimportance 3.8/5
  • Administration and Managementimportance 3.7/5
  • Mechanicalimportance 3.4/5
  • Administrativeimportance 3.2/5
  • Engineering and Technologyimportance 3.2/5

Work Environment

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

  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.8/5
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.8/5
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
  • Freedom to Make Decisions4.7/5
  • Time Pressure4.6/5
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.4/5

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 2.9/5
  • Coordinationimportance 2.9/5
  • Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.9/5
  • Service Orientationimportance 2.6/5
  • Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.6/5
  • Time Managementimportance 2.6/5
  • Instructingimportance 2.5/5
  • Persuasionimportance 2.3/5

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.

  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Cautiousness
  • Integrity
  • Innovation
  • Achievement Orientation
  • Perseverance

Career Interests

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

  • RealisticHigh
  • ArtisticMedium
  • ConventionalMedium
  • InvestigativeLow
  • EnterprisingLow
  • SocialLow

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 jewelers and precious stone and metal workers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

  1. 1Providence-Warwick, RI-MA6.89× national avg
  2. 2New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ3.24× national avg
  3. 3Akron, OH2.39× national avg
  4. 4Springfield, MA2.27× national avg
  5. 5Salt Lake City-Murray, UT1.96× 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 Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.

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