Also called: Traditional Bow Maker, Archery Bow Maker
Handcrafts wooden and laminated archery bows, a rare trade that mixes woodworking, physics, and testing on the range.
A bowyer picks an Osage orange stave, shapes it with a drawknife and rasp, and slowly 'tillers' it so both limbs bend evenly. They also glue up laminated recurve bows for customers, sand and finish them, and test-shoot each one.
Approximate; mostly small self-employed shops.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 2 years after high school. Self-taught or learned from an experienced bowyer.
Ways in: Self-taught, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Growing about average. Steady interest in traditional archery and bowhunting.
Low risk for 10 years. Making and tuning a wooden bow is hand skill; CNC machines matter only in bigger bow factories.
Classes: Woodshop, Physics, Business.
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.