How To Become A Sheet Metal Contractor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sheet metal contractor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a sheet metal contractor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $52.18 an hour? That's $108,543 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -1% and produce -1,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSheet Metal ContractorUS Average

Salary

7.8

Avg. Salary $108,543

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.5

Growth rate -1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 2.61%

Black or African American 8.65%

Hispanic or Latino 14.24%

Unknown 3.32%

White 70.34%

Gender

female 8.54%

male 91.46%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

6.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sheet metal contractor

Explore sheet metal contractor education requirements

Most common sheet metal contractor degrees

Bachelor's

40.0 %

High School Diploma

36.0 %

Associate

12.0 %

Start to develop specific sheet metal contractor skills

Skills	Percentages
HVAC	42.24%
Composite Materials	29.44%
Payroll	28.31%

Complete relevant sheet metal contractor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sheet metal contractors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sheet metal contractor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sheet metal contractor resumes.

Research sheet metal contractor duties and responsibilities

Manage large-scale industrial and commercial HVAC installation and service projects.
Purchase all materials relating to custom metal fabrication and HVAC shop.
Perform fabrication and installation of copper and aluminum gutters for large-scale buildings.
Facilitate processing of RFI's, submittals and samples among the general contractor, the owner and the owner's consultants.

Prepare your sheet metal contractor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sheet metal contractor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sheet metal contractor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable sheet metal contractor resume templates

Build a professional sheet metal contractor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your sheet metal contractor resume.