Builds the oak barrels used to age bourbon, whiskey, and wine.
You raise a barrel from oak staves inside steel hoops, char the inside over fire until it flames, and test it for leaks. A distillery will age bourbon in it for years.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. On-the-job training at a cooperage.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing faster than average. Bourbon boom keeps cooperages hiring.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Barrel-making plants add machines for shaping and toasting, so fewer hands may be needed; fitting staves still needs skill.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to cooperages (barrel makers) near bourbon and wine country; they train new hires on the line
Classes: Woodshop, Geometry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-7011.
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.