Carpenter

46.02 Carpenters · SOC 47-2031

⚠⚠⚠ Florida carpenters earn a median $49,870, $10,710 below the national figure, and the gap grows to $29,960 at the 90th percentile. The way up in Florida is to become the contractor. ⚠⚠ Florida licenses contractors, not carpenters: the contractor exam needs four years of experience including one as foreman, and college credit can replace up to three of them. Florida trains only about 150 carpenters a year in programmes; most learn on the job or through apprenticeship.

Licensure and accreditation

⚠⚠ NO STATE LICENCE TO WORK AS A CARPENTER. An employee of a licensed contractor is exempt (s. 489.103(2), F.S.). Taking jobs yourself is contracting: the certified residential, building and general contractor licences cover it (s. 489.105), and the exam needs four years of experience, at least one as foreman. College credit can replace up to three of those years, and a bachelor's in building construction leaves one (s. 489.111). ⚠ Jobs under $2,500 are exempt unless part of a larger operation (s. 489.103(9)). ⚠⚠ Since 2021 local governments may not license job scopes outside the state categories, and the statute names cabinetry, flooring and painting among them (s. 489.117(4)). ⚠ BLS: all carpenters must pass the OSHA 10-hour safety course.

⚠⚠⚠ Florida pays carpenters well below the national figure, and furthest below at the top

Percentile	Florida	United States	Difference
10th	$36,910	$40,410	−$3,500
25th	$44,540	$48,510	−$3,970
Median	$49,870	$60,580	−$10,710
75th	$59,880	$76,830	−$16,950
⚠⚠ 90th	⚠ $69,950	$99,910	−$29,960

⚠⚠⚠ The Florida gap widens as pay rises: $3,500 below the national figure at the 10th percentile, $29,960 below at the 90th. A carpenter who becomes very good at the trade in Florida earns far less, relative to the country, than one who is just starting. So the way up in Florida is less about getting better with tools and more about becoming the contractor, which is the route this page lays out.

⚠⚠ Read the caveat too: 25% of carpenters are self-employed (BLS), and BLS states that its pay figures do not include self-employed workers. The table describes employees only.

	Carpenters (47-2031)
Entry-level education (BLS)	high school diploma
Training (BLS)	⚠ apprenticeship
Jobs, 2025	889,700
Outlook 2025–35	+4%
Openings a year	about 62,800
Self-employed	25%

⚠ BLS names the technology pressure, and it is prefabrication, not AI: “the popularity of modular and prefabricated components for homes and businesses reduces the need for carpenters to build new structures. Roofs, insulation, walls, and other components, as well as entire buildings, may be manufactured in a separate facility and then assembled onsite.” BLS expects new-home construction to create some jobs at the same time.

⚠⚠⚠ Florida licenses the CONTRACTOR, not the carpenter — and it has stopped local licensing of finish trades

Working as a carpenter needs no state licence. An employee of a licensed contractor is exempt while “acting within the scope of the license held by that certificateholder or registrant and with the knowledge and permission of the licenseholder” (s. 489.103(2), F.S.).
Taking the job yourself is contracting. Under s. 489.105(3) a contractor is anyone who, for compensation, undertakes to “construct, repair, alter, remodel, add to, demolish, subtract from, or improve any building or structure.” The licences that cover carpentry are residential contractor (homes up to two habitable stories), building contractor (up to three stories) and general contractor (unlimited).
⚠ Small jobs are exempt below an aggregate contract price of $2,500, but not when the work is part of a larger operation or the person advertises as a contractor (s. 489.103(9)).
⚠⚠ Since 2021, a Florida county or city may not require a licence for a job scope that does not correspond to a state contractor category (s. 489.117(4)(a)). The statute lists painting, flooring, cabinetry and handyman services among them, so finish carpentry and cabinet work sit outside contractor licensing.

⚠⚠⚠ What a programme or a degree buys: time off the road to the contractor’s licence

The Florida exam for a certified residential, building or general contractor (s. 489.111) needs four years of experience, at least one of them as a foreman. ⚠⚠ College credit can replace up to three of the non-foreman years:

Route to sit the contractor exam	Experience	College
Experience only	4 years, at least 1 as foreman	—
Mixed	2 years skilled worker + 1 year foreman	1 year of college credits
Mixed	1 year skilled worker + 1 year foreman	2 years of credits
Mixed	1 year foreman	3 years of credits
⚠⚠ Degree	1 year	a bachelor’s in engineering, architecture or building construction

⚠ That is why the construction courses below mix clock-hour carpentry and college-credit building construction. The carpentry certificate gets you hired and building. College credit in building construction is what shortens the route to working for yourself legally. ⚠ The statute counts “credits for any accredited college-level courses,” so check with the Construction Industry Licensing Board how a clock-hour certificate is treated before counting on it.

⚠⚠ Where Florida trains carpenters — very few, and at technical colleges

Programme (CIP)	Credentials a year	Where
Carpentry (46.0201)	57 at 15 institutions, all certificates	Atlantic Technical 12, Erwin Technical 12, Fort Myers Technical 10, Pensacola State 6, Suncoast Technical 5, Florida Panhandle Technical 5
Building Construction Technology (46.0415)	97 at 15, all certificates	Manatee Technical 21, Pinellas Technical 12, Lively Technical 9, Okaloosa Technical 9

⚠⚠⚠ About 150 Florida credentials a year feed an occupation with about 62,800 openings a year nationally, so most carpenters are trained on the job or through apprenticeship, as BLS describes. Florida also runs a registered apprenticeship in carpentry (Carpentry - APPR), which combines paid work with technical training. For many people that is the better route, because they are paid while they learn.

⚠ The course ladder, and why it looks different from college to college

Florida’s clock-hour carpentry courses are titled after jobs, the pattern it uses for occupational completion points, but colleges carry different versions:

Course	State title	Carriers
BCV0107	Carpenter Helper, OCP A (300 hours)	6
BCV0122	Carpenter Rough (450 hours)	8
BCV0111	Trim and Finish Carpenter, OCP B (300 hours)	7
BCV0128	Carpenter, OCP B (150 hours)	6
BCV0400–0402	Building Construction Helper (OCP A, 450) and Technician 1 and 2 (OCP B, 300 each)	7

⚠ Two different courses both carry the label OCP B, and Miami Dade and Palm Beach State teach a separate 150-hour sequence (Introduction to Carpentry, Foundations and Forms). The numbering shows more than one version of the programme is in use. Ask the college which courses make up its certificate, how many hours in total, and whether it awards a certificate at each completion point. ⚠ BCV0112 Introduction to Carpentry is classified not automatically transferable in the statewide file.

⚠ BLS: “All carpenters must pass the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10-hour safety course.” Ask whether the programme includes it.

Where people come from

There is no single required programme for this path. These are the fields students actually arrive from — each is a place in the catalog you can browse.

46.04Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and Inspection

⚠ Building/Construction Finishing, Management and Inspection — where Florida files Building Construction Technology (46.0415, 97 certificates at 15 institutions), a ladder that teaches carpentry alongside the other building trades.

52.20Construction Management

⚠⚠ Construction Management — the college route that shortens the way to a contractor's licence, since s. 489.111 lets college credit replace up to three of the four experience years.

Programs that lead here

A program is a field of study, one level above a degree — each page says which degrees it covers and which Florida institutions award them. ⚠ The count is institutions that awarded a credential in the field in 2023; it is not a promise that a school runs this exact degree, and it counts something different from the course-based list further down.

Carpentry and Building Construction Technology 25 Florida schools

The programme. ⚠ Read its note: small, clock-hour, and assembled from job-titled courses that vary from college to college.

Construction Management 30 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The step from carpenter to contractor. College credit in building construction counts toward the contractor exam's experience requirement.

Related, but not a route in

Programs worth knowing about if you are considering this career — ⚠ they do not lead to it. Each row says what it is and is not.

Drafting and Design Technology 25 Florida schools

⚠ Construction drawings, the skill a lead carpenter needs.

Electrical Technology 41 Florida schools

⚠ The neighbouring building trade at the same technical colleges.

Careers similar to this one

Careers filed under the same broad field in the federal classification (CONSTRUCTION TRADES) — often they share early coursework, and each row says which group it is filed in. ⚠ Worth reading BEFORE you commit: switching between neighbours is cheap early and expensive late.

Electrician Electrical and Power Transmission Installers

Electricians install, maintain and repair the wiring and equipment a building runs on, to a code an inspector will check. ⚠ 818,700 people do it nationally with about 81,000 openings a year — the largest figure on this site — and Florida offers two ways in, one of which pays you while you train.

Plumber, Pipefitter and Sprinkler Fitter Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services

⚠⚠ A paid-apprenticeship trade: BLS describes 4 to 5 years of apprenticeship with about 2,000 paid hours a year, on a high school diploma. ⚠⚠⚠ Florida pays well below the national figure ($52,910 median against $63,800), and the gap widens to $34,810 at the 90th percentile. Florida's journeyman licence is issued locally but recognised in every county and city, and the contractor licence is the step that changes income.

See every career in CONSTRUCTION TRADES →

Courses along this path

Selected, not exhaustive — the courses specific to this path plus the foundations it is built on. A course number does not identify a course in Florida: always check your own institution's catalog and take a syllabus to an adviser.

BCV0107 —Carpenter Helper Request a guide

Carpenter Helper — completion point A, 300 hours, at six technical colleges. Tools, safety, materials and measuring. ⚠ The first hireable exit.

BCV0122 —Carpenter, Rough Request a guide

Carpenter Rough — 450 hours, eight carriers. Framing floors, walls and roofs: the structural half of the trade, and the half that falls under contractor licensing when you work for yourself.

BCV0111 —Trim and Finish Carpenter Request a guide

Trim and Finish Carpenter — completion point B, 300 hours, seven carriers. Doors, windows, trim, stairs and cabinets. ⚠ Since 2021, Florida bars local governments from licensing cabinetry and similar finish trades that have no state contractor category (s. 489.117(4)).

⚠ ⚠ BCV0128 Carpenter is also labelled completion point B (150 hours) at six colleges, so ask which version your college teaches.

BCV0128 —Carpenter Request a guide

Carpenter — 150 hours, six carriers, the course named after the occupation and the end of the ladder at the colleges that carry it.

BCV0123 —Foundation and Form Carpentry Request a guide

Foundations and Forms — Miami Dade and Palm Beach State, 150 hours. Trenching, excavation, footings and concrete forms. The statewide record says it prepares students for NCCER certification.

⚠ ⚠ These two colleges run a separate 150-hour sequence that starts with BCV0112 Introduction to Carpentry, which the statewide file classifies not automatically transferable.

BCV0131 —Carpentry 1 Request a guide

Residential Carpentry I — Indian River and Santa Fe: safety, tools, materials, fasteners and construction math.

⚠ ⚠ BCV0132 Residential Carpentry II follows it: windows, doors and stairs.

BCV0400 —Building Construction Helper Request a guide

Building Construction Helper — completion point A, 450 hours, seven carriers. The Building Construction Technology ladder covers carpentry alongside the other building trades.

⚠ ⚠ BCV0401 and BCV0402 Building Construction Technician 1 and 2 (300 hours each) are its completion point B.

BCV0243 —Cabinetmaker Request a guide

Cabinetmaker — completion point D, 450 hours, at three technical colleges. ⚠ A specialism a finish carpenter can move into, and one no Florida local government may license (s. 489.117(4)).

BCN1272 —Blueprint Reading Request a guide

Blueprint Reading — eight carriers. ⚠⚠ Reading plans is a lead carpenter's skill. The course is also college credit, which counts toward the contractor exam's experience requirement (s. 489.111).

⚠ ⚠ Hillsborough, Santa Fe, Seminole State and Tallahassee State teach BCN2272 Blueprint Reading.

BCN1001 —Building Construction Request a guide

Building Construction — seven carriers. The survey of how buildings go together, and the usual first college-credit course in building construction.

BCN1210 —Building Construction Materials Request a guide

Building Construction Materials — Daytona State, Hillsborough, Santa Fe and UF. Wood, concrete, masonry and steel: what each is used for and why.

⚠ ⚠ Broward, FGCU, FSCJ and UNF teach BCN1210C Construction Materials with an integrated lab; FAMU and others teach BCN2230 Materials and Methods.

BCN2280 —Surveying Construction Layout Request a guide

Surveying and Construction Layout — FIU, FSCJ and State College of Florida. ⚠ Layout decides whether everything framed after it is square and where the plans say.

BCN3730 —Construction Safety Management Request a guide

Construction Safety — FIU, St. Petersburg, Seminole State and UF. ⚠ BLS says every carpenter must pass the OSHA 10-hour course, and falls are among the injuries it names. A foreman is responsible for a crew's safety.

BCN4612C —Advanced Construction Estimating Request a guide

Advanced Construction Estimating — FGCU, St. Petersburg, Seminole State and UF. ⚠⚠ The skill a contractor needs and a carpenter usually lacks: pricing a job so that it makes money.

Where you can take these courses in Florida

36 Florida public institutions teach courses on this path. The count is how many of the 14 listed courses each one carries — it shows where the path is best covered. It is not a statement that a school offers this as a degree; for that, check the institution’s own programme list.

ETC

Erwin Technical College

5 of 14

WHTC

Florida Panhandle Technical College

5 of 14

MTI

Manatee Technical College

5 of 14

GTC

Gadsden Technical College

4 of 14

LMLTC

Lively Technical College

4 of 14

OTC

Okaloosa Techincal College

4 of 14

STC

Sheridan Technical College

4 of 14

University of Florida

4 of 14

FIU

Florida International University

3 of 14

MDC

Miami Dade College

3 of 14

SPC

St. Petersburg College

3 of 14

FMTC

Fort Myers Technical College

2 of 14

IRSC

Indian River State College

2 of 14

LSSC

Lake-Sumter State College

2 of 14

PBSC

Palm Beach State College

2 of 14

SFC

Santa FE College

2 of 14

SSCF

Seminole State College of Florida

2 of 14

Broward College

1 of 14

CTC

Charlotte Technical College

1 of 14

DSC

Daytona State College

1 of 14

ECTC

Emerald Coast Technical College

1 of 14

FAMU

Florida A & M University

1 of 14

FGCU

Florida Gulf Coast University

1 of 14

FSWSC

Florida Southwestern State College

1 of 14

FSCJ

Florida State College at Jacksonville

1 of 14

Hillsborough College

1 of 14

ITECH

Immokalee Technical College

1 of 14

LHTEC

Lindsey Hopkins Technical College

1 of 14

OTCWC

Orange Technical College-West Campus

1 of 14

PHSC

Pasco-Hernando State College

1 of 14

PESC

Pensacola State College

1 of 14

PTCC

Pinellas Technical College-Clearwater

1 of 14

SHTC

Riveroak Technical College

1 of 14

SCFMS

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota

1 of 14

TSC

Tallahassee State College

1 of 14

Valencia College

1 of 14

Sources

Requirements change. These are the authorities that decide them — check them directly before committing to a route.

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Carpenters — $60,580 median (2025), 889,700 jobs, +4% for 2025–35, about 62,800 openings a year; entry with a high school diploma and apprenticeship; 25% self-employed, and the pay figures exclude them. Modular and prefabricated components reduce the need for carpenters; OSHA 10-hour course required.
O*NET — Carpenters (47-2031.00) — Job Zone One to Two; 52% of respondents report a high school diploma and 21% a postsecondary certificate; faster than average growth (5% to 6%) for 2024–34 and about 74,100 openings a year.
O*NET — Florida wages for 47-2031.00 — Florida median $49,870 against $60,580 national; the gap grows from −$3,500 at the 10th percentile to −$29,960 at the 90th ($69,950 against $99,910).
s. 489.111, Florida Statutes — contractor exam eligibility — Four years of experience with at least one as foreman, or combinations replacing up to three years with college credits, or a bachelor's in engineering, architecture or building construction plus one year.
s. 489.105, Florida Statutes — contractor definitions — Defines contractor, and general, building (up to three stories) and residential (up to two habitable stories) contractors.
s. 489.103, Florida Statutes — exemptions — Employees working within a licensed contractor's scope are exempt; jobs under an aggregate $2,500 are exempt unless part of a larger operation or advertised as contracting.
s. 489.117, Florida Statutes — local licensing — Local governments may not require a licence for a job scope that does not substantially correspond to a state contractor category; painting, flooring, cabinetry and handyman services are among those listed.
CPALMS-CTE — Florida carpentry programmes (CIP 46.02) — Carpentry clock-hour career certificate, a secondary Carpentry programme, and Carpentry - APPR, a registered apprenticeship.
SCNS statewide course file — BCV and BCN — BCV0107 Carpenter Helper OCP A (300 hours), BCV0111 Trim and Finish Carpenter OCP B (300), BCV0128 Carpenter OCP B (150), BCV0122 Carpenter Rough (450), BCV0400–0402 Building Construction Helper and Technician; carrier counts for every course named.
IPEDS completions — Florida, CIP 46.0201 and 46.0415 — Carpentry 57 certificates at 15 institutions; Building Construction Technology 97 at 15. No degrees.

Last updated 23 September 2026.