Furniture Finishers vs Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers: $45K vs $53K Median Pay

Furniture Finishers vs Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers: what changes?

Consider Furniture Finishers if you want to shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish. Consider Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers if you would rather design, fabricate, adjust, repair, or appraise jewelry, gold, silver, other precious metals, or gems. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Furniture Finishers and Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Furniture Finishers

National median pay (2025): $44,540
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,500

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 3.5% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Furniture Finishers brief

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

National median pay (2025): $52,540
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Clean and polish metal items and jewelry pieces, using jewelers' tools, polishing wheels, and chemical baths.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 3,700

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 3.2% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers has the edge on median pay

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers is at $52,540, compared with $44,540 for Furniture Finishers.

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers has the edge on annual openings

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers is at 3,700 annual openings, compared with 1,500 annual openings for Furniture Finishers.

Typical preparation differs.

Furniture Finishers: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers: High school diploma or equivalent; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers has the edge on projected growth

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers is at -3.2% projected growth, compared with -3.5% projected growth for Furniture Finishers.

29.1/ 100

Furniture Finishers

36.3/ 100

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Furniture Finishers vs Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

Dimension	Furniture Finishers	Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
Median pay (2025)	$44,540	$52,540
Pay percentile	17.1 percentile	37.7 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-3.5%	-3.2%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	1,500	3,700
2025 employment	15,900	32,800
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	High school diploma or equivalent; More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 3
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Furniture Finishers brief Read Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers brief

Furniture Finishers vs Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Furniture Finishers

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

How the national numbers differ

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers has the edge on median pay

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers has the edge on annual openings

Typical preparation differs.

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers has the edge on projected growth

Furniture Finishers vs Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

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