Sheet Metal Mechanic
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Sheet Metal Mechanic occupation series (code 3806).
The verdict
In the Metal Work Family family, Sheet Metal Mechanic counts 5,196 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.3% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount edged up from the prior period; pay averages $91,094, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- +0.3%
- Pay change
- -0.3%
- Avg tenure
- 11.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #1 of 7
FedScope read on Sheet Metal Mechanic (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved up versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
Code 38, the Metal Work Family family, is where the federal government classifies Sheet Metal Mechanic alongside 6 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Sheet Metal Mechanic postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Metal Work Family family. The Metal Work Family family totals 7,198 employees, and Sheet Metal Mechanic accounts for 72.2% of them. Its average salary ranks in the top half (67th percentile) of pay among Metal Work Family occupations.
Salary Context
How Sheet Metal Mechanic pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$91,094
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-22.4%
Where Sheet Metal Mechanic ranks on federal pay
Sheet Metal Mechanic earns more on average than 46% of federal occupation series (249 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Sheet Metal Mechanic sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Sheet Metal Mechanic.
Related Occupations in Metal Work Family
6 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipfitting | 1,201 | $86,635 | 10.3 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Metal Work | 332 | $83,924 | 13.6 yrs |
| Metal Forming Machine Operating | 253 | $72,043 | 10.9 yrs |
| Mobile Equipment Metal Mechanic | 109 | $95,960 | 12.2 yrs |
| Boilermaking | 85 | n/a | 10.8 yrs |
| Metal Forging | 22 | $85,880 | 11 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Sheet Metal Mechanic outside the Metal Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (5,196 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($91,094 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Sheet Metal Mechanic pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Metal Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Sheet Metal Mechanic postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.