--- title: "Helpers--Carpenter" description: "Help carpenters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and…" canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-carpenter" last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z" --- # Helpers--Carpenter **Category:** Construction and Extraction · **SOC code:** 47-3012 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 47-3012.00 Help carpenters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment. Also advertised as: Carpenter Apprentice; Carpenter Assistant; Carpenter Helper. ## At a glance - **Median annual wage:** $43,780 (BLS OEWS, May 2025) - **Median hourly wage:** $21.05/hr - **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $31,660 to $57,670, with the middle half between $36,730 and $49,400 - **Total US employment:** 21,680 - **Typical entry education:** No formal credential - **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed" - **Projected growth:** -1.7% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035) - **Annual job openings:** 2,000 openings a year - **AI-resilience score:** 67/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure ## Pay National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 21,680 US jobs. | Percentile | Annual wage | | --- | --- | | 10th | $31,660 | | 25th | $36,730 | | 50th (median) | $43,780 | | 75th | $49,400 | | 90th | $57,670 | | Mean (average) | $44,050 | ### Pay by state The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there. | State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | NH | $58,090 | $55,767 | Not published by BLS | | CO | $50,900 | $49,393 | 200 | | CT | $50,460 | $48,702 | 200 | | RI | $50,300 | $49,179 | Not published by BLS | | ME | $50,100 | $51,623 | 160 | | CA | $49,890 | $45,060 | 2,670 | | MA | $48,130 | $45,510 | 630 | | NY | $47,740 | $44,236 | 1,110 | | AR | $46,800 | $53,832 | 100 | | WA | $46,060 | $43,041 | 620 | | IL | $45,660 | $45,679 | Not published by BLS | | MI | $44,960 | $46,728 | 230 | | OH | $44,760 | $48,246 | 540 | | HI | $44,550 | $40,518 | Not published by BLS | | VT | $44,550 | $45,479 | 200 | 33 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 48 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-carpenter/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/helpers-carpenter. ## Outlook BLS projects employment to move from 21,900 in the 2025–2035 base year to 21,500 by the end of the cycle — a loss of 400 jobs, or -1.7%. Declining: -1.7% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 2,000 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035. ## How to get in - **Typical entry education:** No formal educational credential (BLS Employment Projections). - **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed". - **Related work experience typically required:** None. - **Typical on-the-job training:** Short-term on-the-job training. ## What the work involves - Clean work areas, machines, or equipment, to maintain a clean and safe job site. - Select tools, equipment, or materials from storage and transport items to work site. - Position and hold timbers, lumber, or paneling in place for fastening or cutting. - Fasten timbers or lumber with glue, screws, pegs, or nails and install hardware. - Cut timbers, lumber, or paneling to specified dimensions. - Hold plumb bobs, sighting rods, or other equipment to aid in establishing reference points and lines. - Drill holes in timbers or lumber. - Align, straighten, plumb, or square forms for installation. ## Skills and knowledge ### Essential skills - Active Listening — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Critical Thinking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Reading Comprehension — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Active Learning — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Mathematics — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Writing — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale ### Transferable skills These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site. - Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Equipment Selection — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Operations Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Time Management — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Repairing — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale ### Knowledge areas - Public Safety and Security — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Building and Construction — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - English Language — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Mathematics — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Mechanical — importance 3.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Production and Processing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale ### Abilities - Near Vision — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Manual Dexterity — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale - Static Strength — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale ## Who it suits O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C). | Interest area | Score (1–7) | | --- | --- | | R — Realistic | 6.91 | | C — Conventional | 3.46 | | S — Social | 2.14 | | E — Enterprising | 1.61 | | A — Artistic | 1.40 | | I — Investigative | 1.29 | ### Personality fit These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job. | Type | Fit score (0–100) | | --- | --- | | ISTJ | 81.2 | | ISFJ | 73.8 | | ESTJ | 71.1 | | ISTP | 69.4 | | ESTP | 59.4 | Best-fitting types: ISTJ. ## Related occupations O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order. - [Helpers--Brickmason, Blockmason, Stonemason, and Tile and Marble Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-brickmason-blockmason-stonemason-and-tile-and-marble-setter) — median $47,550 - [Helpers--Painter, Paperhanger, Plasterer, and Stucco Mason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-painter-paperhanger-plasterer-and-stucco-mason) — median $40,470 - [Helpers--Pipelayer, Plumber, Pipefitter, and Steamfitter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-pipelayer-plumber-pipefitter-and-steamfitter) — median $42,360 - [Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-installation-maintenance-and-repair-worker) — median $39,630 - [Helpers--Electrician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-electrician) — median $42,670 - [Helpers--Extraction Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-extraction-worker) — median $47,730 - [Helpers--Production Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-production-worker) — median $39,070 - [Carpenter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/carpenter) — median $60,580 - [Helpers--Roofer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-roofer) — median $44,160 - [Structural Iron and Steel Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/structural-iron-and-steel-worker) — median $62,780 ## Sources - **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html - **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/ - **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/ - **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/ - **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area --- This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/helpers-carpenter