Architectural sheet metal is a combination of technical skills and artistry. As an apprentice, you will specialize in fastening and joining, managing expansion and contraction, sealing, and controlling moisture to ensure the appearance and durability of buildings. You may spend a good part of your career working at large commercial/industrial sites or residential jobs.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Installer
• Fabricator
• Solderer
• Crew Leader
• Designer
• Project Manager
• Customer Sales and Service

Sheet metal detailing, also known as sketching, is often thought of as CAD (computer-aided drafting). A certified detailer is a skilled commercial HVAC trade person who will advance to provide coordination between the hardware fabricators and the installers from various trades. You will work with project documents and plans and specifications, take field measurements, and create 3-D coordination digital drawings. One important software tool detailers use is building information modeling (BIM), which is taught at many local training centers.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Detailer
• Customer Service Representative
• Project Manager
• Contractor

Almost everything we do indoors depends on a working heating and cooling system. These systems make buildings comfortable and safe. Demand for skilled technicians in this specialized field is high.

As a service and refrigeration technician, you’ll work on a variety of job sites. You may install and test systems to ensure that they are operating safely and efficiently. You may sometimes have to work in dangerous conditions, like during a storm. The work is always exciting and challenging and your services will always be in demand.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Service Technician
• Fabricator
• System Evaluator
• Energy Consumption Manager
• Service Manager

Industrial sheet metal workers work on large-scale projects, custom projects or large shop-built modules. In this field, you may make the machines used in automotive assembly or food processing plants. Or you may find yourself working on a specialized installation almost anywhere in the world. The projects you will work on last for years and enhance the quality of life for many people.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Custom fabricator
• Grinder and finisher
• Plasma cutter operator
• Field installer
• Field foreman
• Shop foreman
• Estimator
• Project manager
• Shop owner

In this field, you will work outdoors on commercial roofing systems. In the classroom and on-the-job training, you will focus on methods and equipment designed to keep you safe. You will also learn about the different types of low slope roofing systems including: built up roofs, modified bitumen roof membranes and single ply membranes. You will also study other types of roofing designs such as green roof systems.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Job superintendent
• Foreman
• Estimator
• Installer
• Safety and risk manager

HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. In this field, you will work on high-volume mechanical systems. These systems deliver heated and cooled air to commercial buildings such as schools, hospitals, airports, factories and office buildings.

You'll work in an exciting environment with dozens of other trade workers, creating something that is long lasting and enhances the quality of life for many people.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Installer
• Service technician
• Supervisor
• Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing (TAB) technician
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) technician
• Energy management technician
• Commissioning agent
• Project manager
• Detailer

Testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB) is an important part of air and water delivery systems. TAB technicians make sure that air and water in heating and air conditioning systems are delivered efficiently, quietly, and safely throughout a building.

As a TAB technician, you will be responsible for working on air and water delivery systems to meet the specifications outlined by the design engineer. If you like math and the idea of working on complex systems and solving problems, TAB is a good career choice for you.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Energy management
• Indoor air quality
• Building systems commissioning
• Sound and vibration testing
• Fire life safety control systems
• HVAC installation or system controls
• System design
• Project management or facility management
• Clean room work or certification

HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. As a residential HVAC technician, you will work on installing and servicing complete residential HVAC systems. You'll install ductwork for a wide variety of residences including single-family homes, town homes and apartment buildings. You may also work on duct systems for existing buildings to remodel, upgrade or troubleshoot. Most of your work will be done in the field.

Opportunities in this field include:

• New construction installer
• Residential finish installer
• Retrofit technician
• Residential services technician

You see signs everywhere – on highways, on top of buildings, hanging outside stores, or planted in the ground. Craft workers in the sheet metal industry make the majority of signs, even the ones made of plastics or neon tubing. In this field, you may work on the design of new signs, fabricate signs based on existing designs, or mount signs in a variety of locations.

Opportunities in this field include:

• Crane operator
• Project coordinator
• Sign designer
• Contractor