Also called: Artist Blacksmith, Metalsmith, Ornamental Ironworker
Heats and hammers steel and iron into gates, railings, tools, sculptures, and hardware.
At a coal or gas forge, they heat steel bars until glowing, then hammer and twist them into a scroll for a staircase railing. Architectural commissions, film props, and historic restoration are common work. It's hot, loud, and physical.
Estimate. Craft income varies hugely; many artisans sell through markets, Etsy, galleries, and commissions.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Apprenticeship, about 2 years after high school. Apprenticeship, craft schools (like John C. Campbell Folk School), or self-teaching.
Ways in: Apprenticeship, Self-taught, Trade school. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Metalworking, Welding (trade school), Sculpture.
Growing slowly. Small but enthusiastic market.
Low risk for 10 years. Hand-forging is the point; machines make mass hardware, but custom gates, tools and art stay human.
Classes: Welding or metals CTE, Art 3-D Design, Chemistry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-4022.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.