Career Map: Trade Worker

Alternate Title(s)

N/A

Minimum Education Requirements

Apprenticeship or technical school

Salary

See Bureau of Labor Statistics for more information

Job Skills

- Physical strength. Trade workers must be able to lift and carry heavy materials. For example, the forms into which concrete is poured.

- Stamina. Trade workers must be able to spend a lot of time kneeling, bending, and reaching.

- Color vision. Trade workers need good color vision because workers frequently must identify electrical wires by color.

- Critical-thinking skills. Trade workers perform tests and use the results to diagnose problems. For example, when an outlet is not working, they may use a multimeter to check the voltage, amperage, or resistance to determine the best course of action.

- Customer-service skills. Some trade workers work with people on a regular basis. As a result, they should be friendly and be able to address customers’ questions.

- Managerial skills. Some trade workers must be able to direct others’ work as well as plan work schedules. Often, this work includes preparing estimates, scheduling jobs, and other administrative tasks.

- Troubleshooting skills. Trade workers must diagnose and repair problems.

Job Duties

N/A

Job Profile

After a site is selected and construction begins, trade workers help install the infrastructure and support structures. This requires the work of many skilled people, including a wide variety of trade workers. Trade workers in the construction phase are primarily, but are not limited to cement masons, electricians, and equipment operators.


 

The information presented within this occupational profile was synthesized from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Handbook of Occupational Groups & Families.