Carpentry Major Guide: Overview and RoEDU™ Opportunities 2025

The Carpentry major builds core foundations in this discipline and prepares students with practical, career-relevant skills. Use RoEDU™ to find programs that match your goals.

Within Trade, students often explore key subfields and specializations that provide targeted expertise.

Graduates translate classroom knowledge into real-world impact across sectors through hands-on projects and internships.

As part of Trade, this major connects to diverse, high-demand fields and interdisciplinary pathways.

Salary Outlook

Entry-level salary
$59,243

Typical starting pay soon after graduation.

Mid-career salary (10y)
$93,668

Estimated after a decade of experience.

Experienced salary (20y)
$125,883

Seasoned professionals at ~20 years.

Weighted median over last 5 years
CAGR 4.7%

CAGR (compound annual growth rate) summarizes average yearly change across the observed period.

Estimated lifetime earnings

40 years, present value
$2,369,720

Employment-weighted across mapped SOCs; entry ≈ 85% of median; historical CAGR shown for last 5y; projections capped at 3% CAGR; lifetime is 40-year present value at 3% discount.

Career Opportunities & Salaries

Data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024) • Median wages, employment, and growth projections

OccupationMedian WageTotal JobsGrowth RateEducation
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
SOC: 47-1011
Occupation: First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
$78,690
806,080
N/A
N/A
Carpenters
SOC: 47-2031
Occupation: Carpenters
$59,310
697,740
N/A
N/A

Historical Career Trends (2020-2024)

Historical data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020-2024) • Salary trends and employment growth over 5 years

First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers

16.0%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$78,690806,080
2023$76,760777,420
2022$74,080720,900
2021$72,010665,870
2020$67,840614,080

Carpenters

19.8%
5-Year Growth
YearMedian WageEmployment
2024$59,310697,740
2023$56,350700,290
2022$51,390689,770
2021$48,260668,060
2020$49,520699,300

Colleges offering Carpentry

Montana Technological University

RoEdu™

999

Net Price

$16k

Earnings

$64k

Bismarck State College

RoEdu™

957

Net Price

$11k

Earnings

$57k

University of Alaska Fairbanks

RoEdu™

850

Net Price

$10k

Earnings

$51k

Austin Community College District

RoEdu™

846

Net Price

$4k

Earnings

$49k

University of Alaska Southeast

RoEdu™

843

Net Price

$9k

Earnings

$51k