Model Makers, Wood
US occupation · SOC 51-7031
Job titles people report: Builder, Craftsman, Jig Maker, Model Builder, Model Maker, Product Development Carpenter, Sample Builder, Sample Maker, Sample Worker, Wood Carver
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $56,550
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $37,660 – $87,150
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 280
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -3.3%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 100
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Construct full-size and scale wooden precision models of products. Includes wood jig builders and loft workers.
Main tasks
- Read blueprints, drawings, or written specifications, and consult with designers to determine sizes and shapes of patterns and required machine setups.
- Fit, fasten, and assemble wood parts together to form patterns, models, or sections, using glue, nails, dowels, bolts, screws, and other fasteners.
- Verify dimensions and contours of models during hand-forming processes, using templates and measuring devices.
- Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.
- Plan, lay out, and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products.
- Construct wooden models, patterns, templates, full scale mock-ups, and molds for parts of products and production tools.
- Select wooden stock, determine layouts, and mark layouts of parts on stock, using precision equipment such as scribers, squares, and protractors.
- Mark identifying information on patterns, parts, and templates to indicate assembly methods and details.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- Medium preparation
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Precision Production
- Cabinetmaking and Millwork
- Wooden Boatbuilding Technology/Technician
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters
$46,680 median · -2.9% projected
- Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
$63,870 median · -3.4% projected
- Patternmakers, Wood
$49,630 median · -2% projected
- Model Makers, Metal and Plastic
$63,340 median · -17.3% projected
- Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
$51,330 median · -6.2% projected
- Carpenters
$60,580 median · +3.9% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk