How to become a handyman

How to become a handyman, step by step

1. Finish high school or get a GED. High school shop classes, trade school or community college courses help.
2. Learn on the job under someone experienced, starting with simple repairs and moving to bigger ones. Working as a helper to a carpenter or electrician is another way in.
3. Find your state's dollar line for small jobs and what trade work needs its own license.
4. If you want bigger jobs, get the contractor license your state asks for.
5. Set your prices, get insured and start taking your own jobs.

Apprenticeship and on-the-job training

Some maintenance and repair workers complete an apprenticeship, which usually combines paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction.

People with work experience or a vocational program in a related trade often need less on-the-job training.

Find registered openings near you in the Apprenticeship Job Finder. In each state page below, we note whether the state runs its own apprenticeship agency or works through the U.S. Department of Labor.

Trade school and other ways in

Shop classes and trade school. Many people pick up the basics in high school technical classes, trade or vocational school, or community college.

Working as a helper. Some learn by assisting carpenters, electricians or other trades workers.

Licenses and exams

For more complex work, such as electrical or plumbing, you may need a license in that trade. Rules vary by state and city.

Most states draw a dollar line: below it a handyman can work without a contractor license, above it you need one. The state rows below show the ones we have checked.

Of the 47 states we have checked against the official boards, 2 require a state handyman license, 35 license only part of the work, and 10 leave it to cities and counties. Every state, with fees and forms: handyman licenses by state.

Certifications

EPA lead-safe firm certification. Anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in homes or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified under the EPA Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule. That covers every firm, sole proprietors included, so it matters the day you go out on your own.

What handymen earn

Handymen earned a median $23.84 an hour in May 2025. The lowest-paid tenth earned under $17.00 and the top tenth over $37.11.

BLS has no separate figure for handymen. These are its numbers for general maintenance and repair workers, the closest group: people who keep buildings and equipment in repair using the skills of two or more trades. Real estate, schools and government are among the top industries BLS lists for them.

BLS counts 1,621,800 jobs for general maintenance and repair workers and projects 4 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 148,700 openings a year.

Pay in every state: handyman salary by state.

From the truck to your own shop

Some handymen train into one trade and become electricians, HVAC techs or plumbers.

Others become supervisors, or open their own repair business.

Before you go out on your own, price your hours. At the national median of $23.84, the labor rate calculator gives $112.46 per billable hour on its starting numbers.

The full checklist: how to start a handyman business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.