Career
Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers
Make and alter clothing to fit.
$41,640
Median pay
-8.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
3,700
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.
- Remove stitches from garments to be altered, using rippers or razor blades.
- Sew garments, using needles and thread or sewing machines.
- Let out or take in seams in suits and other garments to improve fit.
- Measure customers, using tape measures, and record measurements.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then creation & expression?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Measure parts, such as sleeves or pant legs, and mark or pin-fold alteration lines.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Time Management, Speaking, Active Listening, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $41,640 a year and 3,700 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Sewers, Hand$36,480 · -12.0%
- Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers$62,750 · -15.0%
- Sewing Machine Operators$36,670 · -15.1%
- Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers$37,800 · -6.5%
- Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials$35,060 · -15.7%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.