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Job Description

Overview

The City of Chicago is seeking to fill three Carpenter positions within various departments, including Fleet & Facilities Management, Transportation, Water Management, and Aviation. This role involves performing journey-level carpentry work under supervision, including the construction, installation, and repair of wood structures and fixtures.

Responsibilities

  • Reads blueprints, specifications, and work orders to assess work required.
  • Dismantles and removes damaged wooden structures and fixtures.
  • Ensures adequate supplies of tools, equipment, and materials are at work sites.
  • Uses hand and power tools to measure, cut, and shape wood and related materials.
  • Joins materials with nails, screws, staples, or adhesives.
  • Checks accuracy of work with levels and makes necessary adjustments.
  • Builds forms for concrete construction projects and erects scaffolding.
  • Frames walls and partitions and installs doors and windows.
  • Performs finishing work including installing trim and various flooring materials.
  • Repairs and maintains wood and related fixtures.
  • Operates specialized equipment and tools.
  • Maintains records of materials used and prepares work activity reports.
  • Repairs and maintains parts and vehicles as required.

Requirements

  • Successful completion of a US Department of Labor registered Carpentry apprenticeship training program and journeyman status.
  • Successful completion of a company or industry sponsored apprenticeship program as a Carpenter plus two years of journey-level experience.
  • Six years of journey-level experience as a Carpenter.
  • A valid State of Illinois driver's license is required.
  • Some positions require obtaining the basic airfield driving endorsement within six months of hire.

Additional Information

  • This position is open to the public and current City employees in the bargaining unit.
  • Applications will be accepted until 11:59pm CDT on 11/19/2026.
  • Work conditions include exposure to outdoor weather, loud noise, and hazardous conditions.
  • Heavy lifting (up to 75 pounds) is required.
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How this job compares in Chicago, IL

Pay in context

At roughly $59/hr, this posting sits about 54% above the $38/hr median for welding jobs in Chicago, IL — toward the top of a $31–$48/hr middle band drawn from 71 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 86% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Chicago, IL

We're tracking 95 other active welding openings in Chicago, IL right now, from 48 different employers. 24 of them were added in the last week. Across Illinois as a whole we're tracking 331 other active welding openings from 199 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Chicago, or widen the search to Illinois.

City of Chicago currently has 2 other openings live in Illinois, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Illinois at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Gerber Collision & Glass (17), S&C Electric Company (11), and Venteon (9). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Illinois, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Chicago at $38/hr, Downers Grove at $36/hr, and Addison at $36/hr. Chicago is among them.

Similar openings near Chicago, IL

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. CARPENTER figures were last recalculated when this page was built.