What does a Sheet Metal Worker do?

Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Day to day that includes work like maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary and Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.

What skills should a Sheet Metal Worker put on a resume?

O*NET rates Coordination, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, and Active Listening among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Sheet Metal Worker list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Applied Production ProFab, Applied Production ProFold, Autodesk AutoCAD, Computer aided design CAD software, and Computer aided manufacturing CAM software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Sheet Metal Worker work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including HVAC Sheet Metal Installer, Sheet Metal Fabricator, Sheet Metal Mechanic, and Commercial Sheet Metal Service Installer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Sheet Metal Worker need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 49% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Sheet Metal Worker role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Sheet Metal Worker resume example

A resume for a Sheet Metal Worker needs to show the work itself: fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Day to day that means work like this: maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary; fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

HVAC Sheet Metal Installer
Sheet Metal Fabricator
Sheet Metal Mechanic
Commercial Sheet Metal Service Installer
Field Installer
HVAC Sheet Metal Specialist
Sheet Metal Installer
Sheet Metal Journeyman
Sheet Metal Layout Mechanic
AC Sheet Metal Installer
Deburr Tech
Fabrication Tech
Hood Tech
HVAC Sheet Metal Mechanic
Metal Tech
Sheet Metal Tech
Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Installer
Air Duct Mechanic

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

HVAC Sheet Metal Installer (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Installer)
HVAC Sheet Metal Specialist (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Specialist)
Sheet Metal Worker

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.
Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers.
Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.
Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions.
Maneuver completed roofing units into position for installation.
Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
Shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools.

19 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Applied Production ProFab
Applied Production ProFold
Autodesk AutoCAD
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Corte Certo
FCC Software AutoPOL Series
JETCAM Expert
Merry Mechanization SMP/IS
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Word
PTC Creo Parametric

21 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

AC welding power units
AC/DC welding power units
Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
Adjustable widemouth pliers
Adjustable wrenches
Allen wrenches
Ammeters
Angle grinders
Aviation snips
Ball peen hammers
Bandsaws
Bar folders

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Coordination
02Critical Thinking
03Monitoring
04Reading Comprehension
05Active Listening
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Mathematics
08Speaking
09Time Management

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Mechanical
Building and Construction
Mathematics
Design
English Language
Administration and Management
Education and Training
Production and Processing

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

49%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
44%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
7%Less than a High School Diploma

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Sheet Metal Worker do?: Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Day to day that includes work like maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary and Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
What skills should a Sheet Metal Worker put on a resume?: O*NET rates Coordination, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, and Active Listening among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Sheet Metal Worker list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Applied Production ProFab, Applied Production ProFold, Autodesk AutoCAD, Computer aided design CAD software, and Computer aided manufacturing CAM software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Sheet Metal Worker work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including HVAC Sheet Metal Installer, Sheet Metal Fabricator, Sheet Metal Mechanic, and Commercial Sheet Metal Service Installer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Sheet Metal Worker need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 49% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Sheet Metal Worker role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.