Skilled Trades Education and Careers
Credentials, pay, annual openings, and published licensing coverage point to different leaders across five skilled-trades careers.
Which selected skilled-trade careers have the largest related credential output?
Welding-related fields reported 64,197 associate degrees and certificates lasting at least 12 weeks for awards conferred from July 2024 through June 2025. Electrician fields reported 35,302, HVAC fields 28,286, plumbing fields 4,187, and construction-management fields 1,638. The IPEDS release is provisional.
Which careers pay the most, and why is pay not interchangeable with credential output?
Construction managers had the highest May 2025 median annual wage at $114,990. Plumbers were at $63,800, electricians at $63,190, HVAC technicians at $61,010, and welders at $53,750. These are national occupation medians, not earnings of graduates from the linked fields.
Where are projected annual openings largest?
Electricians had 81,000 projected annual openings for 2024–34. Construction managers had 46,800, welders 45,600, plumbers 44,000, and HVAC technicians 40,100. Openings include growth and replacement needs; they are not current vacancies or proof of shortages.
How widely do published licensing records cover the selected careers?
Published license records matched electricians and plumbers in 45 states and District of Columbia jurisdictions, construction managers in 37, HVAC technicians in 36, and welders in seven. Coverage describes records in the source, not whether a program satisfies a jurisdiction’s rules or whether a person is eligible.
What does the combined credential, pay, openings, and licensing evidence reveal?
No single trade leads on every measure
The five careers have distinct education and work profiles. Welding-related fields produced the most selected credentials, construction managers had the highest median pay, electricians had the most projected annual openings, and electricians and plumbers had the broadest published licensing coverage.
| Career | Related credentials | Median pay | Annual openings | Jurisdictions with published licenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction managers | 1,638 | $114,990 | 46,800 | 37 |
| Electricians | 35,302 | $63,190 | 81,000 | 45 |
| HVAC technicians | 28,286 | $61,010 | 40,100 | 36 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 4,187 | $63,800 | 44,000 | 45 |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 64,197 | $53,750 | 45,600 | 7 |
Credential totals combine associate degrees with certificates lasting at least 12 weeks. The fields are connected to careers through the official crosswalk, which identifies possible preparation routes rather than placement.
The heatmap normalizes each measure separately. A darker cell means a larger observed value within that column only; it does not create an overall ranking. Licensing counts describe published administrative records, not program approval or individual eligibility.
Five skilled-trade careers differ across education output, pay, openings, and licensing
A heatmap compares five careers across four measures: 2025–26 credential output, May 2025 median annual pay, projected annual openings for 2024–34, and published licensing coverage. Each cell uses a within-metric 0–100 position. A darker cell means a larger value only within that metric. Positions are not comparable across different metrics because the measures have different units.
| Measure | Career | Position within this measure | Coverage state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-34 annual openings | Construction managers | 16.38 | Observed |
| 2024-34 annual openings | Electricians | 100 | Observed |
| 2024-34 annual openings | HVAC technicians | 0 | Observed |
| 2024-34 annual openings | Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 9.54 | Observed |
| 2024-34 annual openings | Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 13.45 | Observed |
| Credential output | Construction managers | 0 | Observed |
| Credential output | Electricians | 53.81 | Observed |
| Credential output | HVAC technicians | 42.6 | Observed |
| Credential output | Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 4.07 | Observed |
| Credential output | Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 100 | Observed |
| May 2025 median pay | Construction managers | 100 | Observed |
| May 2025 median pay | Electricians | 15.41 | Observed |
| May 2025 median pay | HVAC technicians | 11.85 | Observed |
| May 2025 median pay | Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 16.41 | Observed |
| May 2025 median pay | Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 0 | Observed |
| Published license coverage | Construction managers | 78.95 | Observed |
| Published license coverage | Electricians | 100 | Observed |
| Published license coverage | HVAC technicians | 76.32 | Observed |
| Published license coverage | Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 100 | Observed |
| Published license coverage | Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 0 | Observed |