Helpers--Carpenters
Help carpenters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
Key knowledge
- Public Safety and Security
- Building and Construction
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Position and hold timbers, lumber, or paneling in place for fastening or cutting.
- Erect scaffolding, shoring, or braces.
- Select tools, equipment, or materials from storage and transport items to work site.
- Fasten timbers or lumber with glue, screws, pegs, or nails and install hardware.
- Clean work areas, machines, or equipment, to maintain a clean and safe job site.
- Hold plumb bobs, sighting rods, or other equipment to aid in establishing reference points and lines.
- Align, straighten, plumb, or square forms for installation.
- Install handrails under the direction of a carpenter.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (60.8% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (40.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (33.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Helpers--Carpenters is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 52% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 81% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 66% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 51% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 61% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 77% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 51% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 77% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0.43%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 23.3%
- Contact with others most of the time: 15.45%
- Constant contact with others: 60.82%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2013
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 30.62%
- Fairly important: 25.1%
- Important: 15.78%
- Very important: 16.64%
- Extremely important: 11.87%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2013
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 11.43%
- Important: 20.66%
- Very important: 17.3%
- Extremely important: 50.62%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2013
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0.43%
- Very little freedom: 0.86%
- Limited freedom: 16.92%
- Some freedom: 50.18%
- A lot of freedom: 31.62%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2013
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 8.31%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 10.74%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 53.45%
- Every day: 27.5%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2013
Conflict situations
- Never: 1.09%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 24.45%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.97%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 0%
n = 16, Incumbent 07/2013
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 16.41%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 29.77%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 29.01%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.16%
- Every day: 10.64%
n = 21, Incumbent 07/2013
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 1.4%
- Fairly serious: 21.75%
- Serious: 8.37%
- Very serious: 47.04%
- Extremely serious: 21.45%
n = 20, Incumbent 07/2013
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O*NET-SOC 47-3012.00 · SOC 47-3012 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8