About This Career

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

This career is part of the Architecture and Construction cluster Construction pathway.

A person in this career:

• Cleans work areas, machines, or equipment, to maintain a clean and safe job site.
• Fastens timbers or lumber with glue, screws, pegs, or nails and installs hardware.
• Performs tie spacing layout and measures, marks, drills or cuts.
• Selects tools, equipment, or materials from storage and transports items to work site.
• Drills holes in timbers or lumber.
• Cuts timbers, lumber, or paneling to specified dimensions.
• Positions and holds timbers, lumber, or paneling in place for fastening or cutting.
• Aligns, straightens, plumbs, or squares forms for installation.
• Holds plumb bobs, sighting rods, or other equipment to aid in establishing reference points and lines.
• Erects scaffolding, shoring, or braces.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 50 lbs., sometimes up to 100 lbs. You will need a lot of strength at this level.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Requires getting into awkward positions
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Judging how far away an object is, or which of several objects is closer or farther away
• Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Irregular hours