Construction and Extraction · Holland code RC
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: HVAC Sheet Metal Installer (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Installer), Sheet Metal Fabricator, Sheet Metal Mechanic, Sheet Metal Worker, Commercial Sheet Metal Service Installer, Field Installer, HVAC Sheet Metal Specialist (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Specialist), Sheet Metal Installer.
O*NET 47-2211.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $61,800
- Middle half earn $47,830 to $81,610. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 49% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +2% · Slower than average
- 127,000 jobs in 2024, projected 130,100. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Sheet metal workers".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Inspect individual parts, assemblies, or installations, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, scales, or micrometers.
- Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
- 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.
- Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
- Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.1 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.1 / 5
- Monitoring3.1 / 5
- Active Listening3.0 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Mathematics3.0 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical4.2 / 5
- Building and Construction3.8 / 5
- Mathematics3.8 / 5
- Design3.6 / 5
- English Language3.4 / 5
- Administration and Management3.1 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic100
- Investigative18
- Artistic9
- Social0
- Enterprising0
- Conventional43
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- welder · DE Schweißer/Schweißerin · FR soudeur/soudeuse
- electron beam welder · DE Elektronenstrahlschweißer/Elektronenstrahlschweißerin · FR soudeur par bombardement d’électrons/soudeuse par bombardement d’électrons
- pipe welder · DE Rohrleitungsbauer/Rohrleitungsbauerin · FR soudeur de tuyaux/soudeuse de tuyaux
- spot welder · DE Punktschweißer/Punktschweißerin · FR soudeur par point/soudeuse par point
- boilermaker · DE Behälter- und Apparatebauer/Behälter- und Apparatebauerin · FR chaudronnier/chaudronnière
- coppersmith · DE Kupferschmied/Kupferschmiedin · FR chaudronnier/chaudronnière de cuivre
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Welding trades (5213)49,800 employed
- Steel erectors (5311)8,200 employed
- Assemblers and routine operatives n.e.c. (8149)26,300 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Craft and related trades workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €40,086 |
| Germany | €38,638 |
| Austria | €38,194 |
| Sweden | €37,856 |
| Netherlands | €37,077 |
| Ireland | €36,098 |
| France | €27,145 |
| Italy | €26,488 |
| Spain | €22,817 |
| Portugal | €11,142 |
| Poland | €10,099 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.17. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (47-2211).
Related careers
Is it a fit for you?
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