Sheet Metal Workers
Also called: AC Sheet Metal Installer (Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Installer), Air Duct Mechanic, Aircraft Metalsmith, Aircraft Sheet Metal Mechanic, Angle Bender, Aviation Metalsmith, Beam Worker, Ceiling Installer
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings.
What sheet metal workers do
Typical tasks
- 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.
- 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.
- Maneuver completed roofing units into position for installation.
- 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.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Sheet Metal Workers salary
The median annual wage for sheet metal workers is $61,800 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $38,630 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $105,650. The mean annual wage is $67,850.
The mean hourly wage of $32.00 is 4.4× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Sheet Metal Workers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $61,800 → in 3 years $68,000 → in 5 years $72,400 → in 10 years $84,800 (10-year range $72,900–$98,500). The model assumes pay growth of +3.2% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Sheet Metal Workers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Sheet Metal Workers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Sheet Metal Workers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Sheet Metal Workers United States | 建築板金 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $61,800 | ¥4.54M ≈ $28,886 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $84,800 | ¥5.92M |
| Outlook score | 60 | 61 |
| AI replacement risk | 11% Very low | 15% Very low |
| Workers | 120K | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Sheet Metal Workers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★★☆☆ Moderate (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become sheet metal workers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as sheet metal workers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.