Home › Des Moines Area Community College › Carpenters

Carpenters at Des Moines Area Community College

Ankeny, IA · Public · Certificate
65 /100
TradeSchoolWorth Score (Base Case)
65
Strong Growth
65
Base Case
61
Conservative
Earnings $34,421/yr (-7% vs median)
AI-Proof Resilient (71% shielded)
Job Market Very Large (148,500 openings/yr)

Future-Proof Earnings

Three scenarios modeling future earnings based on technology adoption rates and job market trends for Carpenters graduates.

Strong Growth
Full Stability		 Base Case
Moderate Changes		 Conservative
Max Disruption
10-Year Earnings $395K $354K $294K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 71.1x 63.8x 53.0x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 35.5x 31.9x 26.5x
Viable Career Paths 2 of 2 2 of 2 2 of 2
TradeSchoolWorth Score 65 65 61

10-Year Earnings Projection

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as technology and market conditions evolve over time.

Program Tuition (In-State)
$5,550
Out-of-state: $11,100

Career Paths

Where Carpenters graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 148,500 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI-Proof
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers $78,690 74,400 +5.3% 57%
Carpenters $59,310 74,100 +4.5% 86%

Compare & Explore

Carpenters Overview

View all 15 schools offering Carpenters →

Carpenters at Other Schools

Ivy Tech Community College ($51,104) Hawkeye Community College ($44,602) St Cloud Technical and Community College ($43,440) Western Technical College ($43,008) Triangle Tech Inc-Greensburg ($40,572) Triangle Tech Inc-Bethlehem ($40,572) North Bennet Street School ($39,058) Austin Community College District ($38,268)

Other Majors at Des Moines Area Community College

Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management ($66,093) Computer and Information Sciences, General ($60,163) Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($59,181) Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions ($56,681) Homeland Security ($54,209) Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies ($52,325) Dental Support Services and Allied Professions ($49,953) Funeral Service and Mortuary Science ($49,355)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the TradeSchoolWorth Score for Carpenters at Des Moines Area Community College?
This program scores 65/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 61 (conservative) to 65 (strong growth) depending on market conditions.
How AI-proof is a career in Carpenters?
We model three scenarios: Strong Growth (full career stability), Base Case (moderate changes), and Conservative (maximum disruption). In the base case, Carpenters graduates retain 2 of 2 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $294,388 (conservative) to $394,597 (strong growth).
How many job openings are there for Carpenters graduates?
The career paths mapped to Carpenters have roughly 148,500 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a very large job market.
Is Carpenters at Des Moines Area Community College worth it?
In the Base Case, this program earns 63.8x its tuition over 10 years. Even in the Conservative scenario, the multiple is 53.0x. The narrow spread between scenarios shows how stable trade careers are compared to desk jobs.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Scenarios model earnings resilience using AI exposure data and BLS job growth projections. "Earnings Multiple" is total 10-year projected earnings divided by tuition — not a discounted financial ROI. Last updated 2026.