Upholsterer
🛋️Reupholsters sofas and armchairs: strips the old fabric, replaces foam and springs, cuts and fits new covers, restores the original shape.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $45.7k a year on average · -2.3% jobs by 2035 · 1,700 openings a year
Upholsterers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £29.4k median a year
Upholsterers — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
AI can't reupholster a chair. Demand rests on people repairing furniture instead of buying new, and on custom-made pieces.
Who it suits
Interests: 🔧 Making things by hand, 💄 Beauty, style, fashion, 🎨 Drawing and design.
Key strengths: manual dexterity, strength and stamina.
Where to study
- Apprenticeship Furniture manufacturer apprenticeship, upholstery route (UK, Level 2)
- Vocational Ausbildung Raumausstatter (DE)
- Course Upholstery courses (AMUSF qualifications, UK)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Art & Design, Maths.
🧗 Via an apprenticeship in a furniture workshop (UK), the Raumausstatter Ausbildung in Germany, or courses plus practice. Experienced upholsterers often open their own workshop.
Things to know
🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells
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