Sheet Metal Workers
ManufacturingO*NET 47-2211.00United States
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces.
- Median annual earnings
- $60,737
- Projected change
- +5.3%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 129.36K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
56.2% of the workforce
Growing to 136.25K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What sheet metal workers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
- Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
- Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
- Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.
- Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
- Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
- Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers.
- Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.
- Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions.
- Maneuver completed roofing units into position for installation.
- Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
- Shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools.
- Trim, file, grind, deburr, buff, or smooth surfaces, seams, or joints of assembled parts, using hand tools or portable power tools.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $36,851
- 25th percentile
- $46,542
- 50th percentile
- $60,737
- 75th percentile
- $81,554
- 90th percentile
- $108,378
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $60,737 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+5.3%average or slower
2025129,359 jobs
2035 projected136,247 jobs
6,888 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 56.2%
- Certificate
- 43.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- 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.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- 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.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Sheet Metal Mechanics1,200 postings
- 02Sheet Metal Fabricators762 postings
- 03Sheet Metal Installers239 postings
- 04Sheet Metal Technicians177 postings
- 05Sheet Metal Workers103 postings
- 06Sheet Metal Journeymen89 postings
- 07Sheet Metal Mechanics/Helpers33 postings
- 08Metal Fabricators/Welders20 postings
- 09Sheet Metal Apprentices10 postings
- 10Journeyman Sheet Metal Workers9 postings
- 11Sheet Metal Foremen7 postings
- 12Aircraft Sheet Metal Mechanics3 postings
- 13Sheet Metal Assemblers3 postings
- 14Sheet Metal Estimators3 postings
- 15Aluminum Welders2 postings
- 16Gutter Installers2 postings
- 17HVAC Sheet Metal Mechanics2 postings
- 18Metal Fabricators2 postings
- 19Mig Welders/Fabricators2 postings
- 20Plumbers/Pipefitters2 postings
Top employers
- 01Aerotek462 postings
- 02Tradesmen International54 postings
- 03CCS Construction34 postings
- 04Hsgi31 postings
- 05Skillforce24 postings
- 06Trillium Staffing19 postings
- 07Global Technical Services18 postings
- 08Skybridge Aviation18 postings
- 09Commercial Trade Source17 postings
- 10Gillmann Services17 postings
- 11Rq Construction17 postings
- 12Ascend Recruiting16 postings
- 13Cci Mechanical16 postings
- 14United States Department of Defense15 postings
- 15Enfra13 postings
- 16Hardhat Workforce Solutions13 postings
- 17Tradesource12 postings
- 18D/E/F Services Group, Ltd11 postings
- 19Delphinus Engineering11 postings
- 20GPAC11 postings
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