Patternmakers, Wood
US occupation · SOC 51-7032
Job titles people report: Mold Maker, Pattern Engineer, Pattern Maker, Patternmaker, Wood Pattern Maker, Wood Patternmaker, Wood Shop Moldmaker, Woodshop Worker
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $49,630
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $41,170 – $59,350
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 220
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -2%
- 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
Plan, lay out, and construct wooden unit or sectional patterns used in forming sand molds for castings.
Main tasks
- Read blueprints, drawings, or written specifications 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, and screws.
- Lay out patterns on wood stock and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products, based on blueprint specifications and sketches, and using marking and measuring devices.
- Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.
- Divide patterns into sections according to shapes of castings to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.
- Verify dimensions of completed patterns, using templates, straightedges, calipers, or protractors.
- Correct patterns to compensate for defects in castings.
- Set up, operate, and adjust a variety of woodworking machines such as bandsaws and lathes to cut and shape sections, parts, and patterns, according to specifications.
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
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme 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
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic
$58,000 median · -22.8% projected
- Model Makers, Wood
$56,550 median · -3.3% projected
- Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
$63,870 median · -3.4% projected
- Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers
$62,750 median · -15% projected
- Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
$51,330 median · -6.2% projected
- Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters
$46,680 median · -2.9% 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