Brickmasons and Blockmasons
Lay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances, to construct or repair walls, partitions, arches, sewers, and other structures.
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Time Management
Key knowledge
- Building and Construction
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Production and Processing
- Design
- Administration and Management
- Mechanical
What the work involves
- Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
- Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
- Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.
- Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement.
- Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw.
- Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
- Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
- Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (70.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (36.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (40.5%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Brickmasons and Blockmasons is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 80% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 76% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 51% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 66% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 68% of occupations compared | 67% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 70% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 77% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Higher on consequence of error than 55% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 3.2%
- Occasional contact with others: 12.28%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Constant contact with others: 26.39%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 24.52%
- Important: 8.37%
- Very important: 30.05%
- Extremely important: 10.66%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2018
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 7.72%
- Important: 7.76%
- Very important: 33.96%
- Extremely important: 50.56%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2018
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 15.58%
- Some freedom: 72.24%
- A lot of freedom: 12.18%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2018
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.2%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 7.72%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 67.32%
- Every day: 21.77%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2018
Conflict situations
- Never: 6.39%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 10.96%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 45.89%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 36.76%
- Every day: 0%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 3.2%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.92%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.29%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 0%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2018
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 15.99%
- Fairly serious: 14.95%
- Serious: 22.97%
- Very serious: 39.49%
- Extremely serious: 6.6%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2018
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O*NET-SOC 47-2021.00 · SOC 47-2021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8