What Do Sheet Metal Worker Do?
Career Description 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.
Life As a Sheet Metal Worker: What Do They Do?
- Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
- Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
- Perform sheet metal work necessary for solar panel installations.
- Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
- Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
- Finish parts, using hacksaws or hand, rotary, or squaring shears.
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What Every Sheet Metal Worker Should Know
When polled, Sheet Metal Workers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
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.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Types of Sheet Metal Worker Jobs
- Geothermal Sheet Metal Worker
- Template Layout Worker
- Sheet Metal Layout Mechanic
- Air Duct Mechanic
- Extrusion Former
Sheet Metal Worker Job Outlook
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 138,900 jobs in the United States for Sheet Metal Worker. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 8.6% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 12,000 new jobs for Sheet Metal Worker by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 16,200 job openings in this field each year.
The states with the most job growth for Sheet Metal Worker are Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in Maine, Vermont, or Alaska. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Sheet Metal Worker Salary
The average yearly salary of a Sheet Metal Worker ranges between $27,780 and $86,290.
Sheet Metal Workers who work in Hawaii, Illinois, or Minnesota, make the highest salaries.
How much do Sheet Metal Workers make in different U.S. states?
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $38,970 |
| Alaska | $61,030 |
| Arizona | $41,790 |
| Arkansas | $37,540 |
| California | $56,310 |
| Colorado | $47,090 |
| Connecticut | $55,670 |
| Delaware | $54,620 |
| District of Columbia | $60,540 |
| Florida | $40,100 |
| Georgia | $46,550 |
| Hawaii | $76,900 |
| Idaho | $42,700 |
| Illinois | $69,780 |
| Indiana | $55,290 |
| Iowa | $47,750 |
| Kansas | $43,600 |
| Kentucky | $41,790 |
| Louisiana | $44,860 |
| Maine | $45,430 |
| Maryland | $56,280 |
| Massachusetts | $65,180 |
| Michigan | $52,180 |
| Minnesota | $68,870 |
| Mississippi | $40,180 |
| Missouri | $61,840 |
| Montana | $53,350 |
| Nebraska | $48,970 |
| Nevada | $49,750 |
| New Hampshire | $49,690 |
| New Jersey | $61,790 |
| New Mexico | $47,360 |
| New York | $70,070 |
| North Carolina | $37,980 |
| North Dakota | $51,240 |
| Ohio | $53,320 |
| Oklahoma | $49,900 |
| Oregon | $57,450 |
| Pennsylvania | $57,540 |
| Rhode Island | $57,580 |
| South Carolina | $40,280 |
| South Dakota | $42,720 |
| Tennessee | $44,910 |
| Texas | $40,860 |
| Utah | $53,880 |
| Vermont | $47,040 |
| Virginia | $47,440 |
| Washington | $65,360 |
| West Virginia | $56,950 |
| Wisconsin | $56,480 |
| Wyoming | $43,040 |
What Tools do Sheet Metal Workers Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Sheet Metal Workers may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Data entry software
- Microsoft Windows
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Spreadsheet software
- Computer aided design CAD software
- PTC Creo Parametric
- Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Becoming a Sheet Metal Worker
Are there Sheet Metal Workers education requirements?
How many years of work experience do I need?
Where do Sheet Metal Workers Work?
Below are examples of industries where Sheet Metal Workers work:
Related Careers
Those interested in being a Sheet Metal Worker may also be interested in:
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Construction Carpenters
- Tapers
- Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
Career changers with experience as a Sheet Metal Worker sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
- Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
- Millwrights
- Helpers–Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
References:
Image Credit: US Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class John Linzmeier via Public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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