Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between maintenance carpenters and finish carpenters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a maintenance carpenter, becoming a finish carpenter takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a finish carpenter has an average salary of $46,987, which is higher than the $44,673 average annual salary of a maintenance carpenter.
The top three skills for a maintenance carpenter include hand tools, ladders and plumbing. The most important skills for a finish carpenter are hand tools, custom cabinets, and safety rules.
| Maintenance Carpenter | Finish Carpenter | |
| Yearly salary | $44,673 | $46,987 |
| Hourly rate | $21.48 | $22.59 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 94,076 | 11,653 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 54% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A maintenance carpenter maintains, repairs, and ensures that furniture, building, houses, and facilities are high quality. They also research building structure and handle the replacement, painting, installing, and furnishing equipment that a company needs. Carpenters may be hired for commercial or residential projects of various scales.
Finish carpenters are skilled professionals who perform the final touches on homes after the structure is fully built. These carpenters must carry out various tasks such as installing doors, building bookshelves, and adding designs to window and door trims. They are required to follow work from sketches and drawings to complete the job to the right specifications as well as collecting the correct materials before beginning a job. Finish carpenters must also dismantle and demolish before carrying out repairs or installing new materials.
Maintenance carpenters and finish carpenters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Maintenance Carpenter | Finish Carpenter | |
| Average salary | $44,673 | $46,987 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $59,000 | Between $34,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | Anchorage, AK | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Holton-Arms School | Turner Construction |
| Best paying industry | Construction | Construction |
There are a few differences between a maintenance carpenter and a finish carpenter in terms of educational background:
| Maintenance Carpenter | Finish Carpenter | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 54% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between maintenance carpenters' and finish carpenters' demographics:
| Maintenance Carpenter | Finish Carpenter | |
| Average age | 47 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 97.3% Female, 2.7% | Male, 96.5% Female, 3.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 23.2% Asian, 1.6% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 2% |