Carpenter in 500: The first joiners

How long does it take to become a carpenter? The formal apprenticeship runs three to four years in most systems — Germany's dual training, North American union programs, Australia's Certificate III — combining paid site work with classroom blocks. Carpenters themselves usually put real competence closer to ten years: an apprentice learns to build what is drawn, a journeyman learns what the drawings got wrong, and a master learns to see it beforehand.

What is the difference between a carpenter and a joiner? In British and Irish usage, a carpenter works on site — framing roofs, fixing floors, hanging doors — while a joiner works at a bench, making the stairs, windows and doors the carpenter installs. The trades formally split in London when the Joiners' Company received its charter in 1571. In North America the distinction has largely collapsed into 'rough' and 'finish' carpentry within one trade.

It varies more by country than by skill. The US median was about $60,000 in 2024, with union carpenters in New York or San Francisco well above $100,000 including benefits. Swiss carpenters earn the highest nominal wages, around CHF 70,000–80,000. German qualified carpenters make roughly €40,000–45,000. A skilled urban carpenter in India typically earns ₹25,000–35,000 a month — a small fraction of Western rates.