Modern jewelers work both with their hands and with cool high-tech tools and machines, including computer-aided design programs. If that appeals to you, then being a jewelry maker may be a great way to earn a living.

• Schooling to learn a bench jeweler’s basic skills can be achieved in as little as 3-6 months, though some students attend longer programs. You avoid the costs of an expensive 4-year degree.
• After you’re employed, your education will continue as you work next to more experienced jewelers. Master jewelers generously share what they know, so your skills keep growing. That kind of continuous learning is what keeps a job interesting.
• A jewelry maker’s work is special. You get to create and repair valuable treasures that celebrate some of the happiest moments of people’s lives—when they fall in love, or get engaged and married, or have a child. Others want jewelry to celebrate a new job or a raise, or to simply treat themselves. You’re around for a lot of joy-filled occasions.
• When you learn to make jewelry, no one can ever take that away from you. It’s a profession and a set of skills you can carry anywhere, and that will always be in demand.
• Bench jewelers can go into business for themselves, designing and manufacturing collections, or creating custom jewelry for individual clients.

There’s a big demand today for skilled jewelers, as more people now want products that are customized for them and made in the USA. Also consider the following:

• Millions of folks are inheriting valuable jewelry and want to repurpose it, using the metals, diamonds, and gems to make something new. Jewelry is the original recyclable product!
• Baby Boomer bench jewelers and jewelry makers are beginning to retire—and their employers need new skilled workers.
• Although manufacturing jobs have declined in the past 30 years, there’s been a welcome upsurge in such work recently. Why? Overseas labor, shipping, and import costs are going up. American companies are finding that some highly skilled jobs are relatively more affordable to do in the U.S. again.