Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

Overview

Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters has a national median salary of $46,680 per year, with -2.9% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

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.

Work Values

• Relationships
• Support
• Achievement

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Verify dimensions or check the quality or fit of pieces to ensure adherence to specifications.
• Design furniture, using computer-aided drawing programs.
• Produce or assemble components of articles, such as store fixtures, office equipment, cabinets, or high-grade furniture.
• Program computers to operate machinery.
• Trim, sand, or scrape surfaces or joints to prepare articles for finishing.

Work Activities

• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Getting Information
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment

Detailed Work Activities

• Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished a bachelor's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Bachelor's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for a high school diploma or equivalent.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters:

Video Resources