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Highest-paying trades: pay and training compared

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 10, 2026

The trades ranked by median pay (May 2025)

Each line gives the median yearly pay in May 2025, the typical education needed to start, the usual on-the-job training, the BLS job outlook (the projected change in jobs from 2025 to 2035) and the number of jobs in 2025. All figures come from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.

• Construction managers: $114,990 median ($55.28 an hour). Education: bachelor's degree. Training: moderate-term on-the-job training. Outlook: 9% (much faster than average). Jobs, 2025: 609,100.
• Elevator and escalator installers and repairers: $109,910 ($52.84 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: apprenticeship. Outlook: 6% (faster than average). Jobs, 2025: 24,700.
• Electrical power-line installers and repairers (linemen): $95,320 ($45.83 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: long-term on-the-job training. Outlook: 10% (much faster than average). Jobs, 2025: 131,900.
• Boilermakers: $76,410 ($36.74 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: apprenticeship. Outlook: -2% (decline). Jobs, 2025: 10,200.
• Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters: $63,800 ($30.67 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: apprenticeship. Outlook: 7% (much faster than average). Jobs, 2025: 510,600.
• Electricians: $63,190 ($30.38 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: apprenticeship. Outlook: 9% (much faster than average). Jobs, 2025: 821,000.
• Ironworkers: $61,910 ($29.77 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: apprenticeship. Outlook: 1% (slower than average). Jobs, 2025: 84,800.
• Sheet metal workers: $61,800 ($29.71 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: apprenticeship. Outlook: 3% (as fast as average). Jobs, 2025: 131,100.
• HVAC mechanics and installers (heating, air conditioning and refrigeration): $61,010 ($29.33 an hour). Education: postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate from a trade school or community college). Training: long-term on-the-job training. Outlook: 11% (much faster than average). Jobs, 2025: 440,900.
• Carpenters: $60,580 ($29.12 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: apprenticeship. Outlook: 4% (as fast as average). Jobs, 2025: 889,700.
• Construction equipment operators (heavy equipment): $59,600 ($28.66 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: moderate-term on-the-job training. Outlook: 4% (as fast as average). Jobs, 2025: 534,100.
• Roofers: $55,440 ($26.65 an hour). Education: no formal educational credential. Training: moderate-term on-the-job training. Outlook: 5% (faster than average). Jobs, 2025: 166,900.
• Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers: $53,750 ($25.84 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: moderate-term on-the-job training. Outlook: 2% (slower than average). Jobs, 2025: 437,700.
• Solar photovoltaic (PV) installers: $53,140 ($25.55 an hour). Education: high school diploma or equivalent. Training: moderate-term on-the-job training. Outlook: 37% (much faster than average). Jobs, 2025: 31,100.

For comparison, the median for all occupations in the U.S. was $50,980 in May 2025. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

How to read these numbers

The median is the middle wage: in the BLS's words, "the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less." So half of elevator installers earned more than $109,910 and half earned less. Pay also varies widely inside each trade. For example, the top 10% of electricians earned more than $108,510, while the bottom 10% earned less than $42,640.

The pay figures describe May 2025, and the outlook is the BLS projection for 2025 to 2035. The job counts are the Handbook's "Number of Jobs, 2025," which include self-employed workers: for example, self-employed people held 38% of construction manager jobs and 7% of electrician jobs. The BLS wage survey (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, or OEWS) counts fewer, partly because its "Estimates do not include self-employed workers": 380,360 construction managers and 757,220 electricians in May 2025, against the Handbook's 609,100 and 821,000.

Some lines cover a group of jobs. The ironworker median ($61,910) combines structural iron and steel workers ($62,780) and reinforcing iron and rebar workers ($58,970). Among construction equipment operators, pile driver operators had a median of $73,300 and operating engineers and other construction equipment operators $59,850.

For electricians, see what they earn in every state on our electrician salary page. [4][5][7][11][15]

How the training differs

Most of the best-paid trades are learned through an apprenticeship: a paid job where you work under experienced workers and take related classes at the same time. The BLS describes them this way:

• Elevator installers: the career "typically begins with a 4-year apprenticeship program sponsored by a union, industry association, or employer."
• Linemen: apprenticeships or other employer programs "may last up to 3 years", and "After 3 or 4 years of working, qualified electrical power-line apprentices reach the journey level."
• Boilermakers: "Apprenticeship programs typically last 4 years."
• Electricians: most learn "in a 4- or 5-year apprenticeship program", with "2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training" in a typical year. See the electrician hub.
• Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters: most learn "through a 4- or 5-year apprenticeship." See the plumber hub.
• Ironworkers: "a 3- or 4-year apprenticeship", with "at least 144 hours of related technical instruction and 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training" each year.
• Sheet metal workers: most construction sheet metal workers learn "through 4- or 5-year apprenticeships."
• Carpenters: "typically learn on the job or through apprenticeships." See our carpenter apprenticeship guide.

Some trades start with school or shorter training instead:

• HVAC technicians: school programs "generally last from 6 months to 2 years and lead to a certificate or an associate's degree." See the HVAC hub.
• Solar PV installers: on-the-job training "usually lasts between 1 month and 1 year." See our solar installer guide.
• Roofers: "There are no specific education requirements for roofers. Although most learn on the job, some roofers enter the occupation through an apprenticeship."
• Welders: training is offered in high school technical classes, at "vocational–technical institutes, community colleges, and private welding, soldering, and brazing schools," and through employer apprenticeships.
• Construction managers: typically have a bachelor's degree. The BLS adds that people with "a high school diploma and several years of relevant work experience may qualify," though they "may be more likely to work as self-employed general contractors." See the general contractor hub.

[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][12][13][14]

Which trades need a license

Licensing is set by states (and sometimes cities), so it changes from place to place. The BLS gives this national picture:

• Electricians: "Most states require electricians to pass a test and be licensed." The tests cover "the National Electrical Code and state and local electrical codes."
• Plumbers: "Most states and some localities require plumbers to be licensed," often after "2 to 5 years of experience" and an exam.
• Elevator installers: "Most states require elevator and escalator installers and repairers to be licensed."
• HVAC technicians: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "requires nearly all HVAC technicians to be certified in proper refrigerant handling," and "some states and localities require HVAC technicians to be licensed." See our EPA 608 certification guide.
• Boilermakers, sheet metal workers, solar PV installers and construction managers: some states require a license.
• Welders: "Welders must be licensed in some states and localities."
• Roofers: "Most employers require that roofers complete safety certification that meets" OSHA guidelines. For licensing a roofing business, see our roofing contractor license guide.
• Construction equipment operators: "often need a commercial driver's license (CDL)", and "A few states have special licenses for operators of backhoes, loaders, and bulldozers."

Check your own state's rules on our trade hubs and state pages before you plan your route. [1][3][4][6][7][8][9][11][12][13][14]

What apprentices earn

Apprentices are paid while they learn, but less than fully trained workers. For several trades the BLS gives a starting point:

• Elevator installers: "The starting pay for apprentices is usually about 50 percent of what fully trained elevator and escalator installers and repairers make."
• Ironworkers: starting pay "is usually about 50 percent of what journey-level ironworkers make."
• Roofers: starting pay "is usually 50 percent of what journey workers receive."

In every case, pay rises as you progress. In a registered apprenticeship, federal rules require "A progressively increasing schedule of wages to be paid to the apprentice consistent with the skill acquired," starting at no less than the federal minimum wage where that applies (29 CFR 29.5(b)(5)). [1][5][12][16]

Fastest-growing trades

By the BLS projection for 2025 to 2035, the fastest growth on this list is for solar PV installers (37%), HVAC technicians (11%), power-line installers (10%), and electricians and construction managers (9% each). Boilermaker jobs are projected to decline (-2%). [2][3][4][7][9][14]

Questions people ask