Careers / Model Makers, Wood

Model Makers, Wood — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$56,550

United States, 2025

Employment

280

United States, 2025

Typical education

Post-Secondary Certificate

Job Zone 3

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Construct full-size and scale wooden precision models of products. Includes wood jig builders and loft workers.

O*NET code
51-7031.00
Job zone
3
Experience required
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

Typical tasks

  • Read blueprints, drawings, or written specifications, and consult with designers to determine sizes and shapes of patterns and required machine setups.
  • Fit, fasten, and assemble wood parts together to form patterns, models, or sections, using glue, nails, dowels, bolts, screws, and other fasteners.
  • Verify dimensions and contours of models during hand-forming processes, using templates and measuring devices.
  • Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.
  • Plan, lay out, and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products.
  • Construct wooden models, patterns, templates, full scale mock-ups, and molds for parts of products and production tools.
  • Select wooden stock, determine layouts, and mark layouts of parts on stock, using precision equipment such as scribers, squares, and protractors.
  • Mark identifying information on patterns, parts, and templates to indicate assembly methods and details.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$34,800
10th
$37,660
25th
$56,550
Median
$87,150
75th
$98,050
90th

10th percentile

$34,800

25th percentile

$37,660

75th percentile

$87,150

90th percentile

$98,050

Most important skills

  • Operations Monitoring3.1
  • Monitoring3.1
  • Reading Comprehension3.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.0
  • Critical Thinking3.0
  • Speaking3.0
  • Time Management3.0
  • Operations Analysis2.9
  • Active Listening2.9
  • Operation and Control2.9
  • Quality Control Analysis2.9
  • Coordination2.8

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 7 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

7

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Operations Monitoring3.13.0Not selected3.0
Monitoring3.13.0Not selected3.0
Critical Thinking3.03.0Not selected3.0
Reading Comprehension3.02.9Not selected2.9
Speaking3.02.9Not selected2.9
Judgment and Decision Making3.02.8Not selected2.8
Time Management3.02.8Not selected2.8

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
OH$35,9002025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Model Makers, Wood to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.