Carpenter

A Carpenter creates buildings, cabinets, shelves, and other projects out of lumber. Although sometimes the carpentry skills overflow into finishing work, such as sheet rocking, generally Carpenters work with wood. As a Carpenter, you use your skills in a variety of ways, either specializing in a particular field, such as cabinet making, or in a more general way, building whatever the job requires.

After identifying the needs of a space, you compose a bid for the customer. Once approved, you order supplies and begin the project. This is the fun part of the job as you smell the wood, feel its potential, and shape it into a working piece of art.

Your bare hands act as important tools, along with a tool box of saws, tape measures, levels, etcetera. You sand, hammer, stain, and embellish projects to enhance their appearance, create a unique look, or serve a purpose. Some projects require you to build on-site, often outside in the fresh air. Other projects are completed in a shop and delivered to the site for installation.

This is a highly artistic and skilled position that requires attention to detail and vision. When you walk onto an empty lot, you envision the type of structure that will grace it. If the job is to create cabinets for an empty room, you know the best color of stain, type of wood, and design that will best fit in the space.