Plasterers and Stucco Masons

Overview

Plasterers and Stucco Masons has a national median salary of $57,660 per year, with +2.8% 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 interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.

Work Values

• Independence
• Relationships
• Working Conditions

Work Styles

Responsibilities

Tasks

• Cover surfaces such as windows, doors, or sidewalks to protect from splashing.
• Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns.
• Rough the undercoat surface with a scratcher so the finish coat will adhere.
• Set up scaffolds.
• Clean and prepare surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping.

Work Activities

• Getting Information
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment

Detailed Work Activities

• Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
• Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
• Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.

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 Plasterers and Stucco Masons:

Video Resources