Furniture maker vs lead fabricator

The differences between furniture makers and lead fabricators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead fabricator has an average salary of $44,415, which is higher than the $37,070 average annual salary of a furniture maker.

The top three skills for a furniture maker include hand tools, shop drawings and jointers. The most important skills for a lead fabricator are customer service, lean manufacturing, and safety procedures.

Furniture maker vs lead fabricator overview

	Furniture Maker	Lead Fabricator
Yearly salary	$37,070	$44,415
Hourly rate	$17.82	$21.35
Growth rate	3%	-1%
Number of jobs	7,848	3,209
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	High School Diploma, 28%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	-	-

Furniture maker vs lead fabricator salary

Furniture makers and lead fabricators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Furniture Maker	Lead Fabricator
Average salary	$37,070	$44,415
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $49,000	Between $27,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between furniture maker and lead fabricator education

There are a few differences between a furniture maker and a lead fabricator in terms of educational background:

	Furniture Maker	Lead Fabricator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	High School Diploma, 28%
Most common major	Fine Arts	Business
Most common college	-	-

Furniture maker vs lead fabricator demographics

Here are the differences between furniture makers' and lead fabricators' demographics:

	Furniture Maker	Lead Fabricator
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 92.6% Female, 7.4%	Male, 92.8% Female, 7.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 8.5% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between furniture maker and lead fabricator duties and responsibilities

Furniture maker example responsibilities.

Operate machinery, sanders, saws, planers.
Create necessary jigs and templates for each project.
Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, sanders, or grinders.
Remove rough spots and smooth surfaces to fit, trim, or clean parts, using hand tools or power tools.

Lead fabricator example responsibilities.

Weld TIG & GMAW stainless certify.
Quoted jobs, weld TIG, MIG, aluminum and steel.
Fabricate jigs and fixtures for accurate production of parts.
Follow all safety policies and ensure PPE are used.
Develop jigs, dies, fixtures, gauges and other tooling to meet specifications set out by customers.
Glass glazing/commercial aluminum window panel fabrication

Furniture maker vs lead fabricator skills

Common furniture maker skills

Hand Tools, 42%
Shop Drawings, 17%
Jointers, 12%
CNC, 7%
Planers, 6%
Drill Press, 6%

Common lead fabricator skills

Customer Service, 11%
Lean Manufacturing, 7%
Safety Procedures, 7%
Sigma, 6%
CNC Plasma, 4%
Shop Equipment, 4%