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Sheet Metal Worker

Skilled Trades

Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Mechanical Engineering

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Inspect individual parts, assemblies, or installations, using measuring instruments, such as calipers, scales, or micrometers.
  2. 2Maintain equipment, making repairs or modifications when necessary.
  3. 3Fabricate ducts for high efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to maximize efficiency of systems.
  4. 4Fasten seams or joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, or bonds to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items.
  5. 5Transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
  6. 6Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, or downspouts in supportive frameworks.
  7. 7Hire, train, or supervise new employees or apprentices.
  8. 8Lay out, measure, and mark dimensions and reference lines on material, such as roofing panels, using calculators, scribes, dividers, squares, or rulers.
  9. 9Determine project requirements, such as scope, assembly sequences, or required methods or materials, using blueprints, drawings, or written or verbal instructions.
  10. 10Maneuver completed roofing units into position for installation.
  11. 11Fabricate or alter parts at construction sites, using shears, hammers, punches, or drills.
  12. 12Convert blueprints into shop drawings to be followed in the construction or assembly of sheet metal products.
  13. 13Select gauges or types of sheet metal or nonmetallic material, according to product specifications.
  14. 14Shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools.
  15. 15Verify that heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are designed, installed, and calibrated in accordance with green certification standards, such as those of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
  16. 16Trim, file, grind, deburr, buff, or smooth surfaces, seams, or joints of assembled parts, using hand tools or portable power tools.
  17. 17Perform building commissioning activities by completing mechanical inspections of a building's water, lighting, or heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
  18. 18Fasten roof panel edges or machine-made moldings to structures by nailing or welding.
  19. 19Finish parts, using hacksaws or hand, rotary, or squaring shears.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Tinker
  • Tinner
  • Cowlman
  • Tinsmith
  • Hood Tech
  • Hood Maker
  • Metal Tech
  • Metalsmith
  • Tin Worker
  • Whitesmith

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
PhysicsDraws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Mechanical — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Civil Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Building and Construction — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Engineering DrawingDraws directly on Building and Construction — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Mechanical84%

    Mechanical Engineering StudiesPhysicsDesign & Technology (RBT)

  • Building and Construction75%

    Civil Engineering StudiesEngineering DrawingDesign & Technology (RBT)

  • Mathematics75%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • Design73%

    Visual Art (PSV)Technical Comm. GraphicsEngineering Drawing

  • English Language68%

    English

  • Administration and Management62%

    BusinessEconomics

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Handling conflict situationsAlmost never
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentEvery day
  • Time spent sittingAlmost none
  • Time spent standingAlmost all the time
  • Time walking or movingAlmost all the time

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Electrician (Chargeman)

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Matriculation

One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry.

12–24 months

Related careers

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Sheet Metal Workers

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org