No. TD status permits accompanying the principal and allows study, but it does not authorize employment, regardless of the spouse’s trade experience or Canadian certification.
Each person needs their own basis to work
The point is often missed because other categories work differently, and because a household reasons about itself as a unit. TD is not an employment-authorized status. A spouse who intends to work in the United States needs a classification of their own, assessed on their own citizenship, their own occupation and their own arrangement with an employer. For some trades that will be difficult, because the professional list does not include every skilled occupation and a Canadian trade certificate is not a listed credential. An eligible spouse and unmarried children under twenty-one may hold TD and may study while in that status. Planning around the assumption that a second income will appear after arrival is the version of this that causes real hardship.
Hypothetical example: an aquaculture biologist accepts a temporary assignment while her spouse has arranged a paid bookkeeping role. The household should decide before departure whether the spouse has an independent work category, because TD status itself does not permit employment. The first review produces two separate timelines: the principal's professional documentation and the spouse's own eligibility, filing steps and start date. A signed job offer for the spouse is not authorization. If children will attend school, record their ages and school plans as well, so the family does not treat dependent admission as a solution for every adult's work plans.