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Boston Career Explorer

Construction and Extraction

Helpers--Carpenters

Help carpenters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.

Also called: Carpenter Apprentice, Carpenter Assistant, Carpenter Helper

Median pay in Greater Boston
$48,530
$23.33/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
Not published
Massachusetts 2024–2034
Not published
Typical U.S. entry requirement
No formal educational credential
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$35,880$36,750$48,530$56,160$56,160

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Erect scaffolding, shoring, or braces.
  • Clean work areas, machines, or equipment, to maintain a clean and safe job site.
  • Align, straighten, plumb, or square forms for installation.
  • Select tools, equipment, or materials from storage and transport items to work site.
  • Fasten timbers or lumber with glue, screws, pegs, or nails and install hardware.
  • Position and hold timbers, lumber, or paneling in place for fastening or cutting.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure4 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 5
  • Language-model AIOE 5
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 3

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is very low, and observed AI use is little or none. The work is hands-on: building scaffolding, moving materials, fastening lumber, and keeping the site clean. A bigger change is that construction laborers are increasingly given helper tasks, so the share of carpenter helpers is expected to shrink.

Likely to change

  • Selecting and tracking tools and materials
  • Squaring and plumbing forms with better tools

Still relies on people

  • Erecting scaffolding, shoring, and braces
  • Fastening lumber and keeping sites safe

What federal projections say

“Occupational substitution - share decreases as construction laborers are increasingly assigned helpers tasks because they can support various trades, including carpenters.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Structural Iron and Steel Workers

    Aligning, plumbing, and scaffolding skills carry over. Apprenticeship training leads to a median Boston pay of $120,840, far above helper pay.

    Pay difference
    +$72,310 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.1%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Brickmasons and Blockmasons

    Your experience plumbing and squaring work carries over to laying out brick with levels. An apprenticeship leads to a median Boston pay of $96,960.

    Pay difference
    +$48,430 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +5.3%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers

    Setting and aligning forms builds on your carpentry helper skills. No formal credential is needed, and the median Boston pay is $62,870.

    Pay difference
    +$14,340 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +2.9%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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