Methodology

Which trades are listed

We list skilled trades that train through apprenticeships, certificates or associate degrees, and report what BLS says they pay. There is no pay cutoff. The lead figure is the national annual mean wage in the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates, released 2026-05-15, which we call “average pay (all experience levels)”: it averages every worker in the occupation, from apprentices to veterans, so it is not starting pay. Because a few high earners pull the mean up, we also show the median (half earn more, half less), always labeled as the median, and the BLS 10th percentile, labeled “entry-level / bottom 10%”, which is closer to what new workers earn. Job growth and annual openings come from the BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, released 2026-08-27. Values were read from the BLS national, state and metro OEWS files and cross-checked against the BLS Public Data API on 2026-11-03.

  • Elevator Mechanic — SOC 47-4021, O*NET 47-4021.00: average $109,820 (all experience levels), median $109,910, entry-level / bottom 10% $59,270, top 10% $158,890.
  • Lineworker — SOC 49-9051, O*NET 49-9051.00: average $91,970 (all experience levels), median $95,320, entry-level / bottom 10% $51,470, top 10% $128,690.
  • Refinery & Process Operator — SOC 51-8093, O*NET 51-8093.00: average $90,630 (all experience levels), median $96,710, entry-level / bottom 10% $57,110, top 10% $115,880.
  • Aircraft Mechanic — SOC 49-3011, O*NET 49-3011.00: average $84,740 (all experience levels), median $79,870, entry-level / bottom 10% $48,780, top 10% $128,890.
  • Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technician — SOC 17-3023, O*NET 17-3023.00: average $80,680 (all experience levels), median $78,190, entry-level / bottom 10% $49,510, top 10% $115,700.
  • Industrial Automation Technician — SOC 17-3024, O*NET 17-3024.00: average $76,420 (all experience levels), median $73,900, entry-level / bottom 10% $47,840, top 10% $109,890.
  • Industrial Electronics Technician — SOC 49-2094, O*NET 49-2094.00: average $75,570 (all experience levels), median $74,090, entry-level / bottom 10% $46,840, top 10% $105,590.
  • Plumber & Pipefitter — SOC 47-2152, O*NET 47-2152.00: average $72,170 (all experience levels), median $63,800, entry-level / bottom 10% $44,150, top 10% $108,420.
  • Crane Operator — SOC 53-7021, O*NET 53-7021.00: average $72,130 (all experience levels), median $68,080, entry-level / bottom 10% $42,640, top 10% $103,570.
  • Electrician — SOC 47-2111, O*NET 47-2111.00: average $71,490 (all experience levels), median $63,190, entry-level / bottom 10% $42,640, top 10% $108,510.
  • Operating Engineer — SOC 47-2073, O*NET 47-2073.00: average $66,290 (all experience levels), median $59,850, entry-level / bottom 10% $42,190, top 10% $101,090.
  • HVAC/R Technician — SOC 49-9021, O*NET 49-9021.00: average $64,780 (all experience levels), median $61,010, entry-level / bottom 10% $40,050, top 10% $95,210.
  • Diesel Mechanic — SOC 49-3031, O*NET 49-3031.00: average $64,320 (all experience levels), median $61,770, entry-level / bottom 10% $44,530, top 10% $88,740.
  • Welder — SOC 51-4121, O*NET 51-4121.00: average $56,760 (all experience levels), median $53,750, entry-level / bottom 10% $39,240, top 10% $77,530.

BLS splits this work into three occupations. This page leads with refinery operators (SOC 51-8093) and also shows gas plant operators (51-8092) and chemical plant and system operators (51-8091), each with its own BLS figures. Schools are matched by process, chemical and petroleum technology CIP codes (41.0301, 41.0303, 15.0903), which the NCES crosswalk maps to 51-8091 and 51-8092; 51-8093 has no crosswalk program code. BLS has no 'industrial automation' occupation. We use SOC 17-3024 (Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians, which includes O*NET 17-3024.01 Robotics Technicians). Industrial Machinery Mechanics (49-9041) was also checked (May 2025 average $68,460 across all experience levels, median $64,520, 90th percentile $95,170) and is not listed as a separate trade on this site yet.

We list crane and tower operators (53-7021) and operating engineers (47-2073) as two separate trades with separate program sets: crane sponsors are matched by “crane” in the DOL organization name; operating engineer sponsors by IUOE and heavy-equipment names, plus IPEDS programs in heavy equipment operation (CIP 49.0202). Crane schools are matched by mobile crane operation (CIP 49.0206); IPEDS 2023-24 reports no first-major completions in that code, so crane listings are DOL sponsors.

Where programs come from

  • Schools: NCES IPEDS Completions 2023-24 (C2024_A), matched to each trade by 6-digit CIP code using the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. We count first-major sub-baccalaureate awards (certificates and associate degrees) at institutions IPEDS lists as active in HD2024, and show the number of graduates (completions) for each program from July 2023 to June 2024. CIP codes used: Elevator Mechanic: none (apprenticeship sponsors only); Lineworker: 46.0303, 46.0301, 46.0399; Refinery & Process Operator: 41.0301, 41.0303, 15.0903; Aircraft Mechanic: 47.0607, 47.0608; Electrical & Electronic Engineering Technician: 15.0303; Industrial Automation Technician: 15.0403, 15.0405, 15.0406, 15.0407; Industrial Electronics Technician: 47.0105; Plumber & Pipefitter: 46.0502, 46.0503, 46.0599; Crane Operator: 49.0206; Electrician: 46.0302; Operating Engineer: 49.0202; HVAC/R Technician: 47.0201, 15.0501; Diesel Mechanic: 47.0605, 47.0613; Welder: 48.0508.
  • Registered apprenticeship sponsors: the Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship partner sponsors file (retrieved 2026-10-29). The file has no occupation field, so sponsors are matched by trade keywords in the organization name, and names suggesting cancelled or inactive status are dropped. A match is not a confirmation that the sponsor is currently hiring apprentices.

Tuition

Tuition is shown only where College Scorecard publishes it for the same institution (matched by IPEDS unit ID), labeled with what it is (for most schools, institution-wide annual tuition and fees, in-state to out-of-state; for some, a program-year figure). Apprenticeship sponsors show “Contact program.” We never estimate or average tuition into a program that has none.

City and state pages

A trade-by-state page is published for search only when it has real, non-thin data: at least 3 listed programs, or a BLS state wage estimate plus at least one listed program. Other state pages are kept for visitors who follow old links but are marked noindex and left out of the sitemap. A city page exists only when at least one listed program is located in that city, and is published for search only with at least 3 listed programs or a matching BLS metro wage estimate. Metro wages are shown on a city page only when the BLS metro-area name includes that city.

Sources