Also called: Certified Lumber Inspector, Grade Stamper
Inspects every board coming off a sawmill line and stamps its grade based on knots, cracks and grain, often in under a second each.
Boards fly past on a chain at high speed and you scan each one for knots, splits and wane, marking its grade with a crayon. You must pass a certification test and stay accurate under pressure. Some mills now use camera scanners that you help train and check.
Estimated.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school plus certification from a lumber grading agency.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Shrinking. Shrinking as scanners take over grading.
High risk for 10 years. Camera and AI grading scanners are already replacing human graders at many mills.
Classes: Woodshop class, Algebra.
Official data: O*NET occupation 45-4023.
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.