Woodworking Degree
Students study furniture design, cabinetmaking, wood joinery, finishing techniques, and workshop management using both traditional hand tools and modern CNC equipment. Graduates typically pursue careers as custom furniture makers, cabinetmakers, architectural millwork specialists, and woodworking business owners. Skilled woodworkers who combine traditional craftsmanship with modern technology can command premium prices for custom work.
What Woodworking Graduates Do
Your career will likely begin by bringing designs to life, either as a cabinetmaker or a woodworking machine operator. On a typical day, you might interpret blueprints to build custom kitchen cabinets, or set up and run industrial saws and sanders to produce components at scale. The work is tangible, requiring precision and a deep understanding of your materials.
Early roles often involve assisting senior craftspeople, but with experience, you can become a lead woodworker, manage a shop floor, or launch your own business specializing in custom furniture or architectural millwork. While the highest-paying paths like patternmaking are small and contracting, the core of the trade provides thousands of replacement openings each year.
Be aware that most traditional woodworking jobs face headwinds, with a decline in overall positions. However, the hands-on nature of this craft is its greatest strength. With an average AI exposure of just 11%, the core skills of shaping, joining, and finishing wood are highly insulated from automation. Your career value will be rooted in physical skill and an artisan's eye, not in adapting to disruptive software.
Common Career Paths
Where Woodworking graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 23,200 combined openings per year.
| Career Path | Salary Range | Openings/yr | Growth | AI Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patternmakers, wood | — | -5.0% | 26% | |
| Model makers, wood | 100 | -4.5% | 15% | |
| Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters | 8,100 | -1.6% | 12% | |
| Furniture finishers | 2,000 | -3.3% | 3% | |
| Woodworkers, all other | 1,800 | -4.4% | 0% | |
| Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing | 6,400 | -1.8% | 7% | |
| Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood | 4,800 | -0.6% | 6% |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).
Best Schools for Woodworking
1 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI |
10 12–10 |
$19,151/yr | 1.0x |
Highest Earning Woodworking Programs
Schools where Woodworking graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.
| School | 1-Year Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island School of Design | $19,151/yr | 10 |
Best ROI for Woodworking
Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Woodworking.
| School | ROI Multiple | Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island School of Design | 1.0x | $19,151/yr | 10 |
Related Majors
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Consider the Trade Route
Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Woodworking offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.