Of all the skilled professions, carpentry is the oldest and arguably the most widely recognized. A skilled carpenter makes a positive, even life-changing impact on the people — and quality of life — in their community.
WHAT DOES A CARPENTER DO? Carpenters construct, repair and install building frameworks, remodel and rehab existing buildings, and perform the finishing work made from wood and other materials. Carpentry is a versatile occupation in the construction industry, with craftsmen and women generally proficient in a variety of tasks. Some carpenters are more specialized, such as those who insulate office buildings and/or install drywall or kitchen cabinets in homes. The following are examples of types of carpenters: Construction carpenters • Construct, install and repair structures and fixtures. • Use hand tools and power tools to complete their work. • Construct building frameworks, such as walls, floors and doorframes. Rough carpenters • Build rough, temporary wooden structures such as concrete forms and scaffolds. • May also build tunnels, bridges or sewer supports. • They use hand tools identical to that of construction carpenters. WHAT’S NEW? Cloud Computing/Apps Visit a construction site and you’ll see more iPhones and iPads than paper blueprints. Being skilled in the trades means knowing how to quickly store and retrieve plans, documents and schematics, and that’s exactly what the cloud does for today’s carpenters and their clients. If you choose to go into business for yourself, you will find apps that help you keep everything straight, from bidding new work to billing finished projects and everything in between. BIM Bulding information modeling allows architects, engineers, contractors and other construction professionals to create virtual plans. BIM also provides onboard tools for coordinating the many craftspeople who are scheduled to work on a building. Changes can be made easily in the building specs with-
out having to lug around paper plans or waste a lot of time and manpower running back to the contractor’s office. It also provides a work structure for the tradesmen and women in their proper order and coordinates the delivery of materials such as lumber, concrete, roofing materials or drywall. Drones Unmanned aerial vehicles are playing a larger role in the construction industry. Drones equipped with cameras can access remote locations, collect data, complete safety inspections, capture project progress and more. Surveyors also use them to create 3D mapping. WHERE DO CARPENTERS WORK? Carpenters work indoors and outdoors on many types of construction projects, from highways to kitchen remodels. Working outdoors subjects them to variable weather conditions, and there are times when conditions are such that a carpenter cannot work at all. Most carpenters work full time, which may include working evenings and weekends. This includes self-employed carpenters, particularly in the early stages of starting a business. Safety equipment, such as boots, hardhats and harnesses (when working high off the ground), is required when working for a general contractor or in an industrial setting. WHAT’S THE JOB OUTLOOK? In 2016 there were 6,330 carpenter jobs in Arkansas. The Department of Labor predicts the number of these jobs in Arkansas will grow 9% by 2028, more than four times the national average. About a third of carpenters are self-employed and one in five works in residential construction. As with other construction jobs, carpenters are at the mercy of the economy, and when a slowdown occurs, building projects are sometimes postponed or even canceled. When that happens, workers get laid off.
HOW MUCH CAN I MAKE? • Lower range wages (bottom 10 percent) — $26,490 annually/$12.74 per hour • Middle range wages (median) — $38,170 annually/$18.35 per hour • Higher range wages (top 10 percent) — $58,999 annually/$28.36 per hour Your actual earnings depend on your experience, any specialties you might have and even what part of the state you live in. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL? • Business skills • Detail oriented • Dexterity • Math skills • Physical strength/stamina • Problem-solving skills HOW DO I LEARN THE CRAFT? A high school diploma is generally all that’s required to start a career in carpentry. High school courses in math, mechanical drawing and general technical training classes such as wood shop can be a helpful starting point. Carpenters typically learn their craft on the job and through apprenticeships. Individual businesses, unions and contractor associations may sponsor apprenticeship programs, which can take two to four years to complete. Apprentices learn carpentry basics, blueprint reading, mathematics, building code requirements, and safety and first-aid practices. Apprentice carpenters learn by working with more experienced co-workers and through classroom training. An apprentice typically begins doing simpler tasks such as measuring and cutting wood and works up to more complex jobs such as reading blueprints and building structures. There are also some community colleges that teach carpentry skills, which may or may not qualify as an apprenticeship. All carpenters must pass the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10- and 30-hour safety courses. BLUEPRINT | 2022 | arktimes.com 35
