Painters, Construction and Maintenance
Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency.
- Median pay
- $49,400
- Doing it now
- 326,900
- By 2035
- Up 3%
- Usually needs
- No formal educational credential
a year
across the country
24,900 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Cover surfaces with dropcloths or masking tape and paper to protect surfaces during painting.
- Fill cracks, holes, or joints with caulk, putty, plaster, or other fillers, using caulking guns or putty knives.
- Apply primers or sealers to prepare new surfaces, such as bare wood or metal, for finish coats.
- Apply paint, stain, varnish, enamel, or other finishes to equipment, buildings, bridges, or other structures, using brushes, spray guns, or rollers.
- Calculate amounts of required materials and estimate costs, based on surface measurements or work orders.
- Read work orders or receive instructions from supervisors or homeowners to determine work requirements.
- Erect scaffolding or swing gates, or set up ladders, to work above ground level.
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
Creative and expressive
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 $49,400 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.