Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers

Overview

Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers has a national median salary of $58,930 per year, with +2.5% projected job growth from 2025–2035. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation.

Description

Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fireproofing, or acoustical material.

Work Values

• Support
• Independence
• Working Conditions

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.
• Measure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices.
• Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.
• Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.
• Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.

Work Activities

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Getting Information
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Processing Information
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others

Detailed Work Activities

• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.

T-A-S-K

Technology, Abilities, Skills & Knowledge

Education

Education Levels of Current Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists no formal educational credential as the typical education needed to enter this occupation. The chart below shows the highest level of education held by people already working in this field, ages 25 and older. It includes workers who earned more education than the job requires and workers who entered the field under earlier requirements, so the largest bar is not the entry requirement. For example, if someone finished an associate's degree and then started working in this field, they are counted under “Associate's degree” here, but the job itself typically asks for no formal educational credential.

Certificates

Certifications applicable to Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers:

Video Resources