Painter
Are you creative, with a keen eye for both design and detail? Become a professional painter and put it to use!
Apply paint, stain, and coatings to buildings, walls, and other structures. Prepare surfaces, mix colors, and use brushes, rollers, and spray equipment.
Salary Range
$30,000 – $55,000
per year (10th–90th percentile)
Median Salary
$34,780
per year
Growth Outlook
2024–2034 projected
Utilize your creativity, Work independently or with a small team, Explore pathways to running your own business!
Tasks & Responsibilities
- Apply coatings, such as paint, ink, or lacquer, to protect or decorate workpiece surfaces, using spray guns, pens, or brushes.
- Examine finished surfaces of workpieces to verify conformance to specifications and retouch any defective areas.
- Clean and maintain tools and equipment, using solvents, brushes, and rags.
- Read job orders and inspect workpieces to determine work procedures and materials required.
- Immerse workpieces into coating materials for specified times.
- Select and mix ingredients to prepare coating substances according to specifications, using paddles or mechanical mixers.
- Place coated workpieces in ovens or dryers for specified times to dry or harden finishes.
- Clean surfaces of workpieces in preparation for coating, using cleaning fluids, solvents, brushes, scrapers, steam, sandpaper, or cloth.
- Conceal blemishes in workpieces, such as nicks and dents, using fillers such as putty.
- Melt or heat coating materials to specified temperatures.
Tools of the Trade
Knowledge Areas
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. 53/100
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. 49/100
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. 44/100
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. 39/100
Design
Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models. 35/100
Chemistry
Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods. 34/100
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. 33/100
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions. 31/100
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. 29/100
Computers and Electronics
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. 21/100
Work Profile
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