Painters, Construction and Maintenance
Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Time Management
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Reading Comprehension
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Building and Construction
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security
- Chemistry
- Transportation
- Education and Training
- Production and Processing
What the work involves
- Cover surfaces with dropcloths or masking tape and paper to protect surfaces during painting.
- Fill cracks, holes, or joints with caulk, putty, plaster, or other fillers, using caulking guns or putty knives.
- Apply primers or sealers to prepare new surfaces, such as bare wood or metal, for finish coats.
- Apply paint, stain, varnish, enamel, or other finishes to equipment, buildings, bridges, or other structures, using brushes, spray guns, or rollers.
- Calculate amounts of required materials and estimate costs, based on surface measurements or work orders.
- Read work orders or receive instructions from supervisors or homeowners to determine work requirements.
- Erect scaffolding or swing gates, or set up ladders, to work above ground level.
- Remove fixtures such as pictures, door knobs, lamps, or electric switch covers prior to painting.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (48.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (46.8%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (31.6%)
- 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 Painters, Construction and Maintenance 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 | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 58% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 70% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 62% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 65% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 94% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 61% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 64% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 75% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: low
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: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 1.65%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0.83%
- Contact with others most of the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Constant contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0.22%
- Fairly important: 1.99%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 1.42%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0.34%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 20.28%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 1.11%
- Limited freedom: 2.45%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0.45%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 2.28%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 16.54%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 33.16%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0.69%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.2%
- Every day: 16.41%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 15.52%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 33.44%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.96%
- Every day: 16.41%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 16.22%
- Fairly serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Serious: 0.69%
- Very serious: 31.81%
- Extremely serious: 0%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 47-2141.00 · SOC 47-2141 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8