Explore High-Demand Careers
Average Salary $89,470 USD
Architects design new buildings and create the plans used to construct them. From the building’s outward appearance to the placement of interconnected systems throughout the structure, architects turn construction projects from concepts into the blueprints and diagrams needed to make them a reality.
Average Salary $66,251 USD
Boilermakers manufacture and install boilers, tanks and other large vessels that contain liquids and gases. Boiler-making often involves similar skills, equipment and processes as the welding and pipefitting crafts, where many boilermakers start their career.
Average Salary $61,071 USD
Construction is an industry that includes the building, maintenance and repair of our built environment, from roads and bridges to stadiums and schools. Explore in-demand careers, including salaries, education requirements and training options.
Average Salary $95,440 USD
Civil engineers often split time between the office and project sites, which might include new roads and highways, bridges, tunnels, dams, water and sewage facilities, and electrical plants.
Average Salary $58,046 USD
Concrete finishers build foundations, floors, walls, roads and other structures that are made using concrete. While they still use a variety of classic tools to shape surfaces of poured concrete, they also employ modern machines like riders and laser screeds.
Construction Site Safety Technician
Average Salary $70,986 USD
Construction site safety technicians oversee protective safety procedures, inspections and training for construction projects. Safety technicians are an important part of any job site and must have an attentive eye and good communications skills.
Average Salary $43,000 USD
Construction laborers are generalized professionals who assist in a variety of different tasks on a construction site. Often an entry-level position for new entrants to the industry, laborers get hands-on experience that touch a number of different crafts, offering a foot in the door to potential career specializations.
Average Salary $54,773 USD
Installing drywall includes fitting panels to the building frame, shaping and cutting to make room for fixtures such as windows, outlets and ceiling fans, and concealing seams and screws to prepare a smooth surface for painting.
Average Salary $69,303 USD
Electricians install and maintain the electrical and power systems in new and existing structures. The complex wiring, outlets, switches and circuit breakers that turn on lights, charge phones and even keep large factories running are the handiwork of electricians.
Average Salary $52,495 USD
Framers assemble wall, ceiling and floor frames that help give a building its structure and support. Building frames help create the layout of the building and provide reinforcement for drywall, bricks and other finishing materials.
Average Salary $49,400 USD
Glaziers select, cut and install different types of glass and glass fixtures in buildings. Glaziers work with windows, glass doors, mirrors and even artistic stained glasses.
Average Salary $65,231 USD
HVAC technicians install and maintain the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that maintain temperature and air quality in buildings.
Average Salary $62,909 USD
Heavy equipment operators control the excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks and other large machinery that move materials at a construction site. Skilled operators are critical for preparing land for new builds, and they need to have a strong feel for how their powerful equipment moves and functions.
Average Salary $78,320 USD
Instrumentation technicians test, install and repair instruments and electronic devices that make measurements and control machinery.
Average Salary $57,384 USD
Insulators install insulation to help maintain the temperature in buildings and on pipes, HVAC systems and other equipment. Insulation both protects sensitive equipment and systems while preventing unwanted heat transfer, helping energy efficiency.
Average Salary $63,680 USD
Ironworkers install iron and steel girders, columns and support beams that provide a sturdy structure for large buildings. Precision and focus are important skills for ironworkers, ensuring all structural elements are assembled correctly and safely.
Average Salary $57,646 USD
Masons use bricks, blocks and stones to construct walls, structural supports and even decorative surfaces. Masonry is typically durable and long-lasting, making this craft a key part in a construction build.
Average Salary $68,640 USD
Millwrights assemble and maintain machinery on construction sites and in factories and power plants. Understanding complex manuals and the use of specialized tools are among the skills required for millwrights.
Average Salary $73,285 USD
Mobile crane operators drive and control cranes that move around the job site and use a telescoping boom to raise and lower materials and equipment. Operators use joysticks, levers and pedals to control their equipment and must have a strong understanding of physics.
Average Salary $53,040 USD
Painters apply paint and protective coatings on the walls and other surfaces of buildings. Painting projects could include choosing an enjoyable interior color for a living or work space, applying sealant to exteriors for protection from the elements or even restoration of historical decorative art.
Average Salary $67,824 USD
Pipefitters often operate in industrial settings and work with durable pipe materials like metals that can handle high-pressure substances.
Average Salary $61,533 USD
Pipeline technicians work to maintain the long networks of pipeline that transport petroleum and other products.
Average Salary $73,320 USD
Plumbing distributes clean water to faucets and showers while removing waste, making plumbers key figures in a sanitary and healthy society.
Average Salary $85,072 USD
Linemen and women are essential to keeping electricity flowing to every home, office, hospital and school and they are often among the first responders for natural disasters and other emergencies.
Average Salary $98,965 USD
Project managers oversee a variety of different teams and craft professionals, making sure they are working in sync and finding solutions to any challenges that may arise.
Average Salary $68,170 USD
Riggers are responsible for attaching loads to cranes using cables, hooks and other equipment and need to have an understanding of physics, balance and weight distribution.
Average Salary $59,131 USD
Roofers build, inspect and repair roofs for buildings using a variety of materials, including shingles, asphalt, wood and aluminum.
Average Salary $58,834 USD
Scaffold builders install temporary structures made up of ladders, walkways and handrails that are used by other craft professionals to access hard-to-reach places on construction projects.
Average Salary $61,776 USD
Sheet metal workers cut and shape sheets of thin metal to fabricate products such as air ducts and roofing elements. Many modern sheet metal fabrication shops use computers and special equipment such as laser cutters to assist in their work.
Average Salary $53,783 USD
Solar photovoltaic installers assemble and maintain solar panels that capture energy from the sun. From installing large panels at a solar farm to placing smaller solar roof tiles on the top of a home or office, photovoltaic installation is a growing field helping to develop green energy solutions.
Average Salary $59,288 USD
Sprinkler fitters are responsible for installing protective fire sprinkler systems in buildings. Knowledge of tools and materials as well as local and national sprinkler and fire codes are essential for this craft.
Average Salary $70,880 USD
Surveyors are among the first people at the site of a new project and the information they gather helps with plotting out blueprints, utility maps and computer models.
Average Salary $77,792 USD
Tower crane operators control the tall tower cranes that are used to lift materials and equipment in the construction of skyscrapers and other large structures. Strong understanding of physics, environmental conditions, weight distribution and the controls and functions of the crane are important for this career.
Average Salary $53,730 USD
Underground construction workers install, repair and map out underground utilities systems such as gas, water, sewage, communications and power lines. This work may involve trenching using equipment at the surface, or take place underground using trench-less methods that allow utilities to be installed under existing obstacles.
Average Salary $73,531 USD
Welders fuse materials and objects together by applying heat or pressure. Using flames, electricity or other welding techniques, these skilled professionals join different pieces of metal by melting the materials together and allowing them to cool, creating a strong bond.
Wind Turbine Maintenance Technician
Average Salary $59,340 USD
Wind turbine maintenance technicians are responsible for performing inspections and repairs on electricity-generating wind turbines. Sometimes these repairs take place at the very top of the turbine in what is called the nacelle operating room, which houses instruments that measure wind speed and direction.
