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ConstructionTop JobColorado Talent Pipeline Report-aligned occupation with strong annual openings, growth, and wage signals.Green JobOccupation aligned to O*NET green economy classifications.

Sheet Metal Worker

Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.

Annual openings

211

Median wage

$57,880

Typical education

Education not reported

Growth 2026–2032

+5%

Median wage source: Colorado BLS OEWS (2025).

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Career requirements

What does this career require?

Explore education, required qualifications, voluntary credentials and employer preferences for this role. Check the details to see which apply.

Typical education

Education not reported

Credential requirement

Credential requirements not reported

Credential detail

Become a Skilled Trades Master Craftsman. Depending upon the trade, Skilled Trades Professionals can become Master Craftsmen through experience and additional credentials. Master Craftsmen earn more money and may supervise apprentices in the trade.

Experience detail

Work experience under the guidance (possibly as an apprentice) of a Skilled Tradesperson is expected.

Work-based learning

Build Colorado provides more information about this job as well as links to organizations that provide apprenticeships for them.

The ability to fabricate products using metal is of value in the Creative Arts industry, such as in the creation of sculptures and sets.

Is this work a fit?

What the work actually feels like

How people in this career tend to spend their time, the interests it draws on, and a look at a typical day.

Automation exposure

High exposure

Many tasks are repeatable, so technology could reshape the day-to-day over time.

A typical day

  1. Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
  2. Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.
  3. Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions.
  4. Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
  5. Shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools.
  6. Trim, file, grind, deburr, buff, or smooth surfaces, seams, or joints of assembled parts, using hand tools or portable power tools.
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