Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers
Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.
- Median pay
- $57,020
- Doing it now
- 204,800
- By 2035
- Up 1.6%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
a year
across the country
13,600 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Check the forms that hold the concrete to see that they are properly constructed.
- Set the forms that hold concrete to the desired pitch and depth, and align them.
- Spread, level, and smooth concrete, using rake, shovel, hand or power trowel, hand or power screed, and float.
- Mold expansion joints and edges, using edging tools, jointers, and straightedge.
- Monitor how the wind, heat, or cold affect the curing of the concrete throughout the entire process.
- Signal truck driver to position truck to facilitate pouring concrete, and move chute to direct concrete on forms.
- Produce rough concrete surface, using broom.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and InspectionSee 14 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $57,020 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.