Gunsmithing

 

Types of Degrees Gunsmithing Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	1,015
Undergraduate Certificate	623
Basic Certificate	182

What Gunsmithing Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, gunsmithing/gunsmith 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 Gunsmithing/Gunsmith Majors

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

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Gunsmithing/Gunsmith Majors

When studying gunsmithing/gunsmith, 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:

• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Gunsmithing/Gunsmith Majors

Gunsmithing/Gunsmith majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

What Can You Do With a Gunsmithing Major?

People with a gunsmithing/gunsmith degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Geothermal Technicians	8.2%	$39,320

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Gunsmithing?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 98% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of gunsmithing/gunsmith majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	10
Black or African American	27
Hispanic or Latino	87
White	780
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	111

How Much Do Gunsmithing Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to gunsmithing/gunsmith is $43,050. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

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 Gunsmithing

Some careers associated with gunsmithing/gunsmith require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to gunsmithing/gunsmith have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	56.5%
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)	32.5%
Some College Courses	7.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	2.9%

Online Gunsmithing 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)	10	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	2	0
Associate’s Degree	13	1
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 Gunsmithing Worth It?

The median salary for a gunsmithing/gunsmith grad is $43,050 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 8% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $63,000 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Gunsmithing

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to gunsmithing/gunsmith.

Major	Number of Grads
Musical Instrument Fabrication & Repair	194
Watchmaking & Jewelrymaking	74
Locksmithing & Safe Repair	72
Precision Systems Maintenance & Repair Technologies, Other	25

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
• Image Credit: By Phasmatisnox under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.