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Role hub · Sheet Metal Workers

Sheet Metal Worker: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of sheet metal workers earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$61,800
Hourly
$29.71
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Sheet Metal Workers fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. The median pay is $61,800 a year ($29.71 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (49% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$61,800
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
119,770
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 1-2 of 5
very little to some preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
49% of workers
Key facts

Sheet Metal Workers at a glance

  • Sheet metal workers in the United States earned a median annual wage of $61,800 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for sheet metal workers in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of sheet metal workers in the United States to grow 2.5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,800 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 119,770 people were employed as sheet metal workers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Sheet Metal Workers

SalarySheet Metal Worker salary

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The work

What sheet metal workers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
  2. Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
  3. 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.
  4. Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
  5. Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
  6. Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
  7. Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers.
  8. Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all sheet metal worker jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix).

  1. Specialty trade contractors55.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $70,680
  2. Fabricated metal product manufacturing16.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $58,570
  3. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals4.7% of all jobs in this occupation · -4.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $74,140
  4. Transportation equipment manufacturing3.7% of all jobs in this occupation · +6.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $60,700
  5. Construction of buildings3.5% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $73,770
  6. Administrative and support services1.6% of all jobs in this occupation · -1.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $55,010

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

CoordinationcoreReading ComprehensioncoreCritical ThinkingcoreMonitoringJudgment and Decision MakingTime ManagementActive ListeningSpeakingMathematics

Knowledge areas: Mechanical, Building and Construction, Mathematics, Design, English Language, Administration and Management.

Tools and technology

Software sheet metal workers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Autodesk AutoCADComputer aided design CAD softwareHot technology
  • Applied Production ProFabComputer aided manufacturing CAM software
  • Applied Production ProFoldComputer aided design CAD software
  • Corte CertoComputer aided design CAD software
  • FCC Software AutoPOL SeriesComputer aided design CAD software
  • JETCAM ExpertComputer aided manufacturing CAM software
  • Merry Mechanization SMP/ISComputer aided manufacturing CAM software
  • PTC Creo ParametricComputer aided design CAD software
  • QuickPen DuctDesigner 3DComputer aided design CAD software
  • Revcad Software Sheet LightningComputer aided design CAD software
  • Siemens NXComputer aided design CAD software
  • Striker Systems SS-ProfileComputer aided manufacturing CAM software

Also called: Commercial Sheet Metal Service Installer, Field Installer, HVAC Sheet Metal Installer (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Installer), HVAC Sheet Metal Specialist (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Specialist), Sheet Metal Fabricator, Sheet Metal Installer.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.