Career guides
How to get into each trade
Each guide covers the same six steps — confirming the fit, meeting the requirements, choosing a training route, applying, working the apprenticeship, and getting licensed — with the specifics that differ by trade.
- Guides
- 10
- Wage data
- May 2023 national wage estimates
- Reviewed
- September 2026
- Career guideHow to become an electricianElectricians install, maintain and repair the electrical systems that carry power and data through buildings, plants and infrastructure.
- Median
- $61,590
- Training
- 4–5 years
- Outlook
- +11%
- Career guideHow to become a plumberPlumbers install and service the piping systems that deliver potable water, remove waste and carry fuel gas.
- Median
- $61,550
- Training
- 4–5 years
- Outlook
- +6%
- Career guideHow to become a hvac technicianHVACR technicians work on the equipment that controls temperature, humidity and air quality — furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioners, chillers and commercial refrigeration.
- Median
- $57,300
- Training
- 3–5 years
- Outlook
- +9%
- Career guideHow to become a welderWelders fuse metal using processes such as SMAW, GMAW, FCAW and GTAW, working from drawings and welding procedure specifications.
- Median
- $48,940
- Training
- 3–4 years for structural or pipe apprenticeships
- Outlook
- +2%
- Career guideHow to become a carpenterCarpentry spans rough framing, formwork, interior finish, cabinetry and specialty millwork.
- Median
- $56,350
- Training
- 3–4 years
- Outlook
- +4%
- Career guideHow to become an automotive technicianAutomotive service technicians diagnose and repair vehicles that have become rolling computer networks.
- Median
- $47,770
- Training
- 2–4 years to reach full diagnostic capability
- Outlook
- +3%
- Career guideHow to become a machinistMachinists set up and operate lathes, mills and CNC machining centers to produce parts within tolerances measured in thousandths of an inch.
- Median
- $50,840
- Training
- 4 years for tool and die
- Outlook
- +2%
- Career guideHow to become an industrial maintenance technicianIndustrial maintenance technicians — often called millwrights or maintenance mechanics — keep factories, warehouses and processing plants running.
- Median
- $61,170
- Training
- 4 years for millwright apprenticeships
- Outlook
- +15%
- Career guideHow to become a heavy equipment operatorConstruction equipment operators run the machines that shape a site — excavators, dozers, graders, loaders and cranes.
- Median
- $56,160
- Training
- 3–4 years
- Outlook
- +4%
- Career guideHow to become a rooferRoofers install, repair and replace roof systems — asphalt shingle, metal, tile, single-ply membrane and built-up.
- Median
- $50,030
- Training
- 3 years
- Outlook
- +2%
Before you pick one
The spread within a trade is wider than the spread between them
Choosing by median pay is the most common mistake. What determines whether you stay is conditions — weather, on-call, travel and physical wear — and those differ far more between trades than the money does.
Match trades to how you want to work