Carpentry

Our Carpentry program encourages a commitment to excellence and a mastery of the craft. In 36 weeks, you’ll be able to jump-start your carpentry career and earn a return on your educational investment. Our small class sizes give you plenty of one-on-one time with your instructors, who are master carpenters.

In this program, you’ll learn how to construct and renovate residential and commercial buildings. You’ll use hand tools and machines, and learn the different practices of current and emerging industry standards. You’ll experience the importance of working together safely and efficiently on building sites to meet your clients’ needs.

Our Carpentry facilities are well-suited for lectures, benchwork, and small building projects. In addition, you’ll work off-site on construction that may include house additions, garages, or similar projects.

Faculty

Peter Smith PC ’04

PETER SMITH PC ’04

Peter is the Carpentry Department Head and a graduate of our Preservation Carpentry program. He most recently worked for custom building and design firm David E. Lanoue, Inc, and previously supervised NBSS interns at Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village. Peter is also a former NBSS Continuing Education instructor, with additional experience as a camp counselor and a public school teacher.

BROCK LEIENDECKER PC ’16

Brock graduated from the School's Preservation Carpentry program, and has worked on a variety of preservation and building projects throughout New England. He previously taught Continuing Education courses and served as an assistant in both the Carpentry and Preservation Carpentry programs.

Jeffrey Hanley CA ’21

Carpentry Teaching Assistant

Schedule

We offer rolling admissions and will accept applicants throughout the year. The program is extremely competitive and fills quickly, so you should apply as early as possible. Successful applicants are dependable, have basic math skills, and enjoy physically demanding work.

Students are admitted in September.
The maximum enrollment is 26 students.
Classes meet 7:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Thursday, September through May.
The program length is one, nine-month academic year (36 weeks or 1170 class hours*).
Students are responsible for their own transportation to site work.
Students who complete the program receive a Diploma of Carpentry.

* Class hours equals clock hours.

Tuition

Tuition & Costs

September 2021-July 2022 tuition is $25,500, with the option of making 9 monthly payments of $2,833.
The estimated cost of hand tools is $3,350.
The estimated cost of books is $250.
The cost of materials is $900, billed as monthly installments of $100.

How to Fund Your EducationFinancial aid, scholarships, and veterans benefits available for qualified students.

Careers

Graduates of our Carpentry program enjoy careers like residential remodeling, contractor work, project management, and many others.

Some of the jobs our graduates have held include:

Lead carpenter for high-end remodeling and cabinetmaking business
Finish carpenter for a large contractor
Job supervisor for high-end renovator/remodeler
Assistant project manager at a commercial construction company
Owner of a residential remodeling company
Carpenter for the State of Massachusetts

EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK

The following information is from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Carpenters work throughout the country in almost every community and make up the second largest building trades occupation. Usually, employees with previous classroom training start at a higher level than those without training. Some carpenters change employers each time they finish a project. Others alternate between working for a contractor and working independently.

Carpenters held about 945,400 jobs in 2014.

About 30% of all carpenters were self-employed.
20% worked in residential building construction.
12% worked in nonresidential building construction.
11% worked as finishing contractors.

Employment is expected to increase by 6% during the 2014–24 decade, stimulated by:

Population growth to meet people’s housing and other basic needs
Energy conservation, particularly in the industrial sector
Home remodeling
Construction and repair of roads and bridges, financed by the Federal and State governments.

Job opportunities will be good for those with the most training and skills. Carpenters with specialized or all-around skills will have better opportunities than those who can perform only a few simple, routine tasks.

For more information, see the U.S. Department of Labor statistics for Carpentry.

SALARY AND WAGE DATA

According to Payscale, the median annual salary for carpenters was $43,736 in 2016. The median hourly rate was $19. The following averages are for specific carpentry-related jobs in 2016:

Journeyman Carpenter - Median annual salary: $48,904 | Median hourly wage: $24.
Lead Carpenter – Median annual salary: $49,569 | Median hourly wage: $22
Assistant Project Manager – Median annual salary: $54,205 | Median hourly wage: $17
Carpenter Foreman – Median annual salary: $56,791 | Median hourly wage: $24
Construction Foreman – Median annual salary: $54,701 | Median hourly wage: $21
Construction Laborer – Median annual salary: $38,576 | Median hourly wage: $14
Finish Carpenter – Median annual salary: $43,065 | Median hourly wage: $20
Handyman – Median annual salary: $39,694 | Median hourly wage: $20

Program News

In the Making: Earth-Bound Building

On Thursday, November 18, 2021 Blain Snipstal—founder, designer, and lead builder of Earth-Bound Building—joined us in conversation with Preservation Carpentry Instructor Michael Burrey. Blain and Michael talked in-depth on the negative impacts modern construction have on our planet and how low-impact building can benefit us all, intersections with historic preservation, and the difficulties the face in building green. Plus, Michael gave a tour of his lime pit and kiln! Watch the full event.

NBSS Students Featured on Open Studio

WGBH's Open Studio with Jared Bowen interviewed two of our students who made big career shifts in coming to NBSS: former urban planner, now carpenter Madeline Colety CA '22, and former pilot, now piano technician Amin Tabrizi PT '22. Watch the segment here.

In the Making: Carpentry Alumni Panel

On October 21, 2021 we talked with Carpentry alumni Braima Massaquoi CA '14, Xiomara Garcia CA '21, Richard Yoo CA '21, and Ali Muhammad CA '21 in a conversation led by guest host, Rob O'Dwyer, NBSS Director of Admissions & Enrollment. The panel detailed their unique journeys to NBSS, the wide depth of what they learned in our nine-month program, the amazing community they discovered during and after their time at NBSS.

Learning Happens Everywhere

Every year, our Carpentry and Preservation Carpentry programs tackle real-world projects outside of the classroom, whether in partnership with museums, nonprofits, private clients, and everywhere in between. Catch up with new and old projects from recent years here.

More Info

Related Programs

We offer several woodworking programs, each with a distinct focus, skill set training, and program length. Our Admissions team can help you understand which program is the right choice for your goals.

Check out the other woodworking programs offered at NBSS: