Carpentry Training from Home
With a recognized and accredited home study carpentry program, you can learn the building and home improvement skills you need to make your home improvement and building projects look as if you hired a pro! Learning materials and professional-quality tools are shipped to your door, and unlimited help from instructors is just a phone call - or an e-mail - away.
Master the skills you need to tackle the projects you never had the courage to handle - with confidence! Learn the techniques you need to:
- Apply siding and build porches and decks.
- Frame floors, stairs, walls, and roofs.
- Build beautiful additions to your home including finished kitchens and baths.
- Install, troubleshoot, and repair home plumbing systems and electrical systems.
So start improving your home or launching a career in carpentry. The skills you can learn from our programs are not only useful, but marketable as well. You can find out how you can start and operate your own business.
Penn Foster Career School 
Ashworth College 
Overview
As a carpenter, you may work in a residential, commercial or industrial setting. Residential carpenters are involved in building new homes and with remodeling projects. People employed as industrial carpenters help to construct bridges, tunnels, sewers and more. Commercial carpenters are involved in building retail and educational buildings, offices and related work. Regardless of which type of carpentry you decide to go into, there are specific duties you can expect to perform. These include interpreting blueprints, taking measurements, constructing the framework for a new project and communicating with other contractors to coordinate work efforts.
What Kind of Education is Required to Become a Carpenter?
A college degree is not a specific requirement to become a carpenter, but the majority of employers prefer that you have one. You can complete coursework in carpentry at most community and technical colleges as well as a career college. While in school, you will spend time studying mechanical drawings, physics, geometry, cost estimation, how to read blueprints, safety, framing and other courses specific to your job duties.
The majority of your education to become a carpenter is completed through an apprenticeship. While you are only required to complete 144 hours of classroom training, you must complete 2,000 hours of paid training as an apprentice. Most apprenticeships are offered through carpentry unions, state agencies or large contractors. As an apprentice, you will work under the direct supervision of an experienced carpenter. At the end of your formal training and apprenticeship, you receive the job title of journey carpenter and are permitted to work without supervision.
What is the Job Outlook and Average Salary for Carpenters?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates the demand for skilled carpenters to grow at an annual rate of 20 percent through the end of the decade. This information was published in a report released by the BLS in 2010. Residential carpenters are anticipated to be in the highest demand, due to the recovery of the economy and the housing market. People who put off having a new home built or remodeling their existing homes are expected to follow through with their plans now the economy is a bit more stable. New construction is forecasted to return to the same or higher levels than before the recession hit in 2007. Industrial carpenters are also expected to be needed to repair and replace highways and bridges in the coming years.
The average annual salary for all carpenters in 2010 was $40,000. This includes both apprentices and journey carpenters at all levels of experience and skill. As a carpenter apprentice, you can expect your salary to start at approximately 30 percent of what a journey carpenter makes. As you gain experience, that figure will get closer to 50 percent. Most people work in an apprenticeship role in carpentry for three to four years. After that, you will earn the salary of a journey carpenter. In 2010, carpenters at the 90th percentile on the wage scale earned salaries of $70,000 a year or more.
One thing to keep in mind with carpentry is that four out of 10 people in this field work for themselves. That means that you will not get benefits like employer-sponsored health insurance and paid vacations. However, self-employment as a carpenter also means more job flexibility and the ability to manage your business as you see fit.
References:
http://www.ehow.com/info_12074895_kind-education-required-carpenter.html
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Construction-and-Extraction/Carpenters.htm
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