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Career overview · SOC 47-2211

Sheet Metal Workers

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.

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

Median pay (national)
$60,850
$38,030–$102,680 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
117,470
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+2.4%
~10,600 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent

What the numbers say

Refit analysis ·Pay for sheet metal workers shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $102,680 versus $38,030 at the bottom 10% — 2.7x. The median of $60,850 leaves roughly 69% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +2.4% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 10,600 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 53 states with released data, New Jersey pays the most for this role (median $94,310, +55% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $27,950 — a 237% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.

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Top skills employers ask for

Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Active Listening
  • Speaking
  • Mathematics
  • Active Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Writing
  • Science

What they actually do

Core O*NET tasks for this role.

  • Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
  • Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.
  • Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions.
  • Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
  • Shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools.
  • Trim, file, grind, deburr, buff, or smooth surfaces, seams, or joints of assembled parts, using hand tools or portable power tools.
  • Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
  • 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.
  • Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
  • Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.

Tools & technology

  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Applied Production ProFab
  • Applied Production ProFold
  • Corte Certo
  • FCC Software AutoPOL Series
  • JETCAM Expert
  • Merry Mechanization SMP/IS
  • PTC Creo Parametric
  • QuickPen DuctDesigner 3D
  • Revcad Software Sheet Lightning
  • Siemens NX
  • Striker Systems SS-Profile
  • WiCAM PN4000
  • XY Soft Sheet Cutting Suite
  • Microsoft Excel

Knowledge areas

  • Mechanical
  • Building and Construction
  • Mathematics
  • Design
  • English Language
  • Administration and Management
  • Education and Training
  • Production and Processing