Skilled Trades
Sheet Metal Workers
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. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.
Median salary
$60,850
Typical range
$38k – $103k
Job outlook
+2% (about average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Sheet Metal Workers
Education
Typical entry: No degree required
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Sheet Metal Workers
Entry / Junior
$38,030
~2 yrs to advance
Sheet Metal Workers
Established
$60,850
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Sheet Metal Workers
Senior
$81,765
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
- •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.
- •Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.