Bricklayer / Plasterer / Tiler
🧱Lays brick and block walls, plasters, tiles, fills and paints. You see the result of your work right away.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $54.1k a year on average
Brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, & reinforcing iron & rebar workers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £33k median a year · 8,000 jobs
Bricklayers — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
3D-printed houses and plastering robots are appearing, but varied sites and renovations keep work for tradespeople; there's a skills shortage.
Who it suits
Interests: 🏗️ Building and spaces, 🔧 Making things by hand.
Key strengths: manual dexterity, strength and stamina.
Where to study
- Apprenticeship Bricklaying / plastering apprenticeship (UK, 2–3 years), Ausbildung Maurer/in (DE)
- Vocational College trade course (NVQ / T-Level in the UK, trade school in the US)
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Maths.
🧗 A 2–3-year apprenticeship (UK apprenticeship, German Ausbildung) or a college trade course with placements. There's a shortage of tradespeople: experienced finishers quickly win their own jobs and earn well.
Things to know
🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells🧗 Working at heights
Similar careers
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