Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters
Career Cluster
Manufacturing
Focuses on the processing of materials into products. In this field, you will plan, manage, and oversee material processing. This can include support activities like control and maintenance.
Learn more about this clusterAt a glance
Expected pay range
Expected pay range
This represents the median earnings for this career in the selected county or state. In the range shown, 25% of workers earned less than the bottom salary and 25% earned more than the top salary. Data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Monthly cost of living
These numbers give you an idea of how much you can spend each month on common expenses with this salary. Percentages are the average a person with no children spends according to data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (external link opens new tab) These numbers are a starting point and will differ person to person.
Your actual expenses may differ from those listed. You’ll need to account for the amount taken out in taxes each month. Learn more about income tax expenses. (external link opens new tab) Your student loan payments may also differ. To calculate your student loan payments, use the federal student loan repayment estimator. (external link opens new tab)
About cabinetmakers and bench carpenters
What they do
Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products.
Other titles
Cabinet Assembler, Cabinet Builder, Cabinet Installer, Cabinetmaker, Double End Tenon Operator, Frame Builder, Framer, Woodworker
Skills they need
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Equipment Selection - Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- 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.
Licenses and Certifications they may hold
How to decide which one is right? That depends on an individual’s career path, specialty, and resources.
Certifications
Certifications may be available for this career and can help build knowledge and skills in specific job roles. Explore available certifications (external link opens new tab)
Similar careers
View careers in the same field as cabinetmakers and bench carpenters.
Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Cut or carve stone according to diagrams and patterns.
Carpenters
Construct, erect, install, or repair structures and fixtures made of wood and comparable materials, such as concrete forms; building frameworks, including partitions, joists, studding, and rafters; and wood stairways, window and door frames, and hardwood floors. May also install cabinets, siding, drywall, and batt or roll insulation. Includes brattice builders who build doors or brattices (ventilation walls or partitions) in underground passageways.
Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
Lay out reference points and dimensions on metal or plastic stock or workpieces, such as sheets, plates, tubes, structural shapes, castings, or machine parts, for further processing. Includes shipfitters.
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Fabricate, position, align, and fit parts of structural metal products.
- Architectural Woodwork Institute (external link opens new tab)
- Association for Manufacturing Technology (external link opens new tab)
- Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International (external link opens new tab)
- National Tooling and Machining Association (external link opens new tab)
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Woodworkers (external link opens new tab)
- Woodworking Machinery Industry Association (external link opens new tab)