Also called: Board Builder
Hand-shapes custom surfboards from foam blanks for surf shops, brands or their own label, then glasses and finishes each board.
Shapers sand and plane blanks into exact shapes, then glass and finish them. Many top shapers are surfers who apprenticed for years before building a brand.
Estimate; well-known shapers earn much more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 3 years after high school. Apprenticeship with an experienced shaper.
Ways in: Apprenticeship, Self-taught, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing slowly. Niche craft.
Medium risk for 10 years. CNC machines rough-shape most boards from digital files; hand finishing and custom shaping keep a smaller niche.
Classes: Woodshop, Art or design, Geometry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-7099.
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.