Every trade.
One straight page.
Sorted by pay. Every number sourced from BLS or DOL data. The warnings are sourced from union forums, worker accounts, and licensing-board data.
Electrical
Power, light, data — the trades that make modern life work.
Builds and repairs the high-voltage grid. Climbs poles, rides bucket trucks, works storms. Highest-paid common trade.
Pulls wire, bends conduit, makes everything that uses electricity work. The flagship trade.
Installs data, voice, video, fire alarm, access control, security cabling. The 'electrical work without the high voltage' trade.
Installs photovoltaic systems on roofs and ground mounts. Growing trade, often a stepping stone to electrician.
Mechanical
Pipes, ducts, machines. If it moves fluid or air, this is the family.
Installs, modernizes, and repairs elevators and escalators. The highest-paid construction trade in the BLS data.
Installs and repairs water, drain, gas, and steam systems. The 'recession-proof' trade.
Fabricates and installs ductwork, roofing, gutters, and architectural metal. The unseen trade that makes HVAC actually work.
Installs, maintains, repairs heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration. Year-round demand, climate-change tailwind.
Wraps pipes, ducts, equipment in insulation for industrial and commercial systems. Specialty trade with strong union representation.
Construction
Wood, brick, concrete, steel, glass — the trades that build the building.
Erects the skeleton of buildings, bridges, stadiums. Walks the iron. Highest-paid construction trade in many metros.
Lays brick, block, and stone. Old trade, slow to change, body-intensive. Skilled masons command top pay; helpers, not so much.
Builds the frame, hangs the doors, runs the trim, sets the cabinets. The broadest trade — five carpenters can do five different jobs.
Runs the big iron — cranes, excavators, bulldozers, graders. Solid pay, strong union, less brutal on the body than other construction trades.
Installs glass — storefronts, curtain walls, mirrors, custom windows. Precision, height, weight. Strong IUPAT presence.
Pours, finishes, repairs concrete. The trade that built America's infrastructure literally.
Installs and repairs roofs — shingle, metal, single-ply, built-up. Hot work, fast money in storm season, high injury rate.
Hangs drywall, finishes joints, preps walls for paint. The trade behind every smooth wall you've ever seen.
Surface prep and coating for buildings, bridges, industrial structures. Often paired with related trades (drywall, glazing) under IUPAT.
Industrial
Heavy iron, pressure vessels, big machines. The trades that build the things that build things.
Builds, installs, and repairs boilers, pressure vessels, and other large industrial steel structures. Boomer trade — heavy travel for premium pay.
Installs, aligns, maintains, and repairs heavy industrial machinery. Precision trade — your work is measured in thousandths.
Maintains and repairs wind turbines. Fastest-growing trade in BLS projections. Climbs 300+ feet for a living.
Joins metal. Everything from your car frame to nuclear submarines. The trade with the highest variance in pay.
Transportation
Moving freight, passengers, and equipment. CDL, fleet, logistics.
Service
Repair, diagnose, maintain. Auto, diesel, and the work-with-your-hands service trades.
Fixes the trucks that move America. Steady demand, transportable skills, growing complexity with modern emissions systems.
Repairs cars and light trucks. The 'easiest entry, hardest to top out' trade.