Also called: Guitar Maker, Violin Maker, Instrument Builder
Builds and repairs stringed instruments like guitars, violins, and cellos.
A luthier might carve a violin top from spruce over many days, or fix a cracked guitar neck and adjust its action. Custom builders have long waitlists. Repair work in music shops pays the bills.
Based on BLS musical instrument repairers and tuners, May 2024 estimates; master builders of fine violins earn far more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Apprenticeship, about 2 years after high school. Luthier schools (like Chicago School of Violin Making) or long apprenticeships.
Ways in: Trade school, Apprenticeship. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Lutherie (trade school), Woodworking.
Growing slowly (about 1% over 10 years). Little change projected.
Low risk for 10 years. CNC cuts some guitar parts in factories; hand-shaping and voicing wood by ear in custom and repair shops stays human.
Classes: Woodshop CTE, Music, Physics (sound).
Official data: O*NET occupation 49-9063.
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.