This career is something to consider when one particularly enjoys keeping their hands busy.

The job entails a wide knowledge and skills in the use of various tools and machines. Products are very specific when it comes to measurement and sizing, so one must be very meticulous and take extreme care in handling projects. Cabinetmaking has a rich historical background and adopts a multitude of influences. An aspiring cabinet maker should also familiarize himself with these schools of design. He must be educated in the numerous skills ranging from sanding, sealing and staining wood all the way to polishing products. Traditional cabinetmaking also involves creative design and woodwork, which may pose a challenge in lifting heavy objects and standing for long periods at a time.

Aside from the technical prerequisites of the job, choosing to become a cabinet maker also requires patience, perseverance, and dedication. A project, depending on the skill of the carpenter and the difficulty in making a particular cabinet, may take a couple of days or stretch up to weeks at a time. Responsible time management is essential to any would-be cabinet maker, as the duration of a project is solely dependent on his or her own discretion.

Of course one does not simply decide to become a cabinet maker and have it suddenly become so. Like most professions, some measure of training and education is required in order to begin this career. Cabinet makers receive the majority of their training while on the job, but they also obtain relevant and necessary skills via community college courses, vocational schools and universities. This training period covers a wide array of skills, including computer operations for creating designs and drawings. Students also learn woodworking skills such as joinery, assembly, installation, frame making finishing and polishing. While some of these programs allow the student to graduate with a certificate or an associate's degree, other programs offer apprenticeship opportunities upon graduation.