What Can You Do with a Major in Woodworking?

Woodworking is a traditional skill that has been around almost as long as mankind, and there is a long and rich history of expert craftsmen. It comes as no surprise that woodworking career options for students who graduate with a specific woodworking degree will be very specialized and will be the kind of job that is a passion and a craft. This guide will look at what career and salary you could expect to get in this particular area and help you choose where you should study.

Why Should You Do A Woodworking Degree?

There has been a resurgence in recent years of traditional skills, and woodworking is one of the most popular. While many countries are using brick and concrete to build their new houses, Americans still use traditional timber and lumber, with 93% of all new homes being build out of wood. A degree in woodworking is hugely valuable for this fact alone.

If you have a passion for craftsmanship and creating pieces made from wood that are aesthetically pleasing and will last the test of time, studying for a woodworking major could be the perfect foundation for a long and happy career.

What Jobs Can I Do with A Woodworking Major?

You may decide to specialize in millwork, furniture design, or even manufacturing, depending on the size of the projects you would like to take on. Some of the more popular jobs with a woodworking degree include:

Furniture Finishers

Earning on average $32,400 per year, this is a great first step on the road to woodworking mastery. As a furniture finisher, you will revitalize and restore damaged or worn furniture to a particular finish. You will always start evaluating the condition of the furniture before deciding on the right course of action. To complete the job, you might work with grinders, sanders, and sandpaper, varnish, paint, or stain.

Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

As you would expect from the name, you will be making wooden furniture, including cabinets. This will involve creating designs, deciding on the type of wood, cutting and fixing the parts, and adding varnish or stain to the cabinet. Getting involved with the traditional skills of cabinet making and carpentry for various clients and projects, the average woodworking degree salary for an experienced graduate in this area could be as high as $111,800, with the average US carpenter making $56,800 annually.

Woodworking tender

With this role, you will be working with machinery of all sizes, from large mill machines right down to the small drills and hand tools that may have been used for centuries. This is a very varied role, but the average salary in the US is around $32,600.

How to Pick the Best Woodworking College for You?

For a degree like woodworking, being in the right environment is vital for your success as a student. Due to woodworking’s rich history, you will need to pick a college that understands both the traditional side of the course and the future of woodworking so that you get the best of both worlds and have the chance to use the best equipment to learn on.

Here at CampusReel, we know that prospective students have a lot of options to choose from. This is why we have over 15,000+ videos made by students for students that will take you on tours of college life, and we’ve got videos from colleges across the US.

Get an inside look into what it’s like to be a student at the colleges you are considering. Watch video interviews with students and faculty leaders, get video tours of both the campus and the local areas, and immerse yourself in the social side of college life.