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Skilled Trades

Patternmakers, Wood

Plan, lay out, and construct wooden unit or sectional patterns used in forming sand molds for castings.

Median salary (BLS)

$49,630

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$38k – $84k

Job outlook

No separate BLS projection for this specific role

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $70,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Patternmakers, Wood

Qualification costsStack incomeBest cities/statesSchool ROIJob-posting fitTailored resume

Education

Typical entry: No degree (trade/license)

Plan my path to this →

How to qualify

EstimateLicense required

Cost to qualify

$100–$2,600

Time to qualify

3.1 yr

Renewal

$50/yr

  1. 1

    Registered apprenticeship (paid)

    Experience

    Earn-while-you-learn training — apprentices are paid during the program; fees are tools/books, not tuition.

    $0–$2,000 · 36 months · varies by state source

  2. 2

    Journeyman exam & state/local license

    License

    Most states and municipalities test and license journeyman-level trades workers.

    $100–$600 · 1 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Patternmakers, Wood" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Patternmakers, Wood

    Entry / Junior

    $37,600

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Patternmakers, Wood

    Established

    $49,630

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Patternmakers, Wood

    Senior

    $66,705

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Read blueprints, drawings, or written specifications to determine sizes and shapes of patterns and required machine setups.
  • •Fit, fasten, and assemble wood parts together to form patterns, models, or sections, using glue, nails, dowels, bolts, and screws.
  • •Lay out patterns on wood stock and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products, based on blueprint specifications and sketches, and using marking and measuring devices.
  • •Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.
  • •Divide patterns into sections according to shapes of castings to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Skilled Trades

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.