Plasterers and Stucco Masons
Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Quality Control Analysis
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Service Orientation
- Operations Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Building and Construction
- Administration and Management
- Design
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- Mathematics
- Mechanical
What the work involves
- Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns.
- Mix mortar and plaster to desired consistency or direct workers who perform mixing.
- Create decorative textures in finish coat, using brushes or trowels, sand, pebbles, or stones.
- Clean and prepare surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping.
- Cover surfaces such as windows, doors, or sidewalks to protect from splashing.
- Clean job sites.
- Apply insulation to building exteriors by installing prefabricated insulation systems over existing walls or by covering the outer wall with insulation board, reinforcing mesh, and a base coat.
- Cure freshly plastered surfaces.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Less than a High School Diploma (68% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (38.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (29.5%)
- 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 Plasterers and Stucco Masons 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 | Low | Lower on contact with others than 69% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 91% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 54% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 94% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 88% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 87% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 87% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 60% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- 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: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 15.12%
- Contact with others about half the time: 5.2%
- Contact with others most of the time: 33.23%
- Constant contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 22, Incumbent 07/2015
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 12.57%
- Important: 28.23%
- Very important: 4.54%
- Extremely important: 6.91%
n = 22, Incumbent 07/2015
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 2.61%
- Important: 2.7%
- Very important: 53.43%
- Extremely important: 41.26%
n = 22, Incumbent 07/2015
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Limited freedom: 13.63%
- Some freedom: 24.75%
- A lot of freedom: 19.96%
n = 22, Incumbent 07/2015
Time pressure
- Never: 10.42%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: 17.49%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 32.77%
- Every day: 17.17%
n = 22, Incumbent 07/2015
Conflict situations
- Never: 21.97%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 51.03%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.56%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 13.38%
- Every day: 2.06%
n = 19, Incumbent 07/2015
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 26.03%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 56.82%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 3.63%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 1.49%
- Every day: 12.02%
n = 22, Incumbent 07/2015
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 10.42%
- Fairly serious: 30.08%
- Serious: 38.65%
- Very serious: 12.02%
- Extremely serious: 8.84%
n = 22, Incumbent 07/2015
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O*NET-SOC 47-2161.00 · SOC 47-2161 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8