Carpentry

 

Types of Degrees Carpentry Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many carpentry graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	1,916
Undergraduate Certificate	1,555
Associate Degree	428

What Carpentry Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, carpentry majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Carpentry Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Carpentry Majors

When studying carpentry, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Carpentry Majors

Carpentry majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

What Can You Do With a Carpentry Major?

People with a carpentry degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Construction Carpenters	8.2%	$46,590
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	12.6%	$65,230
Rough Carpenters	8.2%	$46,590
Solar Energy Installation Managers	12.6%	$65,230

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Carpentry?

Carpentry runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #37 out of all the trade school majors we track. In 2021, about 426 graduates completed their associate’s degree in this field. This major attracts more men than women. About 90% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of carpentry majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	12
Black or African American	38
Hispanic or Latino	53
White	263
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	62

How Much Do Carpentry Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $51,120 to $70,540 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to carpentry. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Carpentry

Some degrees associated with carpentry may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for carpentry careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	12.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	39.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	23.6%
Some College Courses	15.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	6.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	1.2%
Master’s Degree	0.7%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.8%

Online Carpentry Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	196	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	16	0
Associate’s Degree	82	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Carpentry Worth It?

The median salary for a carpentry grad is $51,120 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 28% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $224,400 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Carpentry

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to carpentry.

Major	Number of Grads
Electrical & Power Transmission Installers	26,459
Building Management & Inspection	5,269
Plumbing & Water Supply	2,888
Construction	1,813
Masonry	284
Other Construction	190

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.