Stonemasons
Build stone structures, such as piers, walls, and abutments. Lay walks, curbstones, or special types of masonry for vats, tanks, and floors.
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
- Coordination
- Operations Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
Key knowledge
- Building and Construction
- Design
- Mathematics
- Mechanical
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Production and Processing
What the work involves
- Lay out wall patterns or foundations, using straight edge, rule, or staked lines.
- Shape, trim, face and cut marble or stone preparatory to setting, using power saws, cutting equipment, and hand tools.
- Set vertical and horizontal alignment of structures, using plumb bob, gauge line, and level.
- Mix mortar or grout and pour or spread mortar or grout on marble slabs, stone, or foundation.
- Remove wedges, fill joints between stones, finish joints between stones, using a trowel, and smooth the mortar to an attractive finish, using a tuck pointer.
- Set stone or marble in place, according to layout or pattern.
- Clean excess mortar or grout from surface of marble, stone, or monument, using sponge, brush, water, or acid.
- Lay brick to build shells of chimneys and smokestacks or to line or reline industrial furnaces, kilns, boilers and similar installations.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (57.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (43.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years (37.2%)
- 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 Stonemasons 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 65% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 77% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 95% of occupations compared | 89% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 69% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 65% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 66% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 52% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 81% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very high
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: 16.59%
- Contact with others about half the time: 2.65%
- Contact with others most of the time: 26.47%
- Constant contact with others: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 9.11%
- Fairly important: 1.94%
- Important: 13.11%
- Very important: 20.65%
- Extremely important: 55.19%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.76%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 1.43%
- Very important: 8.91%
- Extremely important: 88.9%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0.71%
- Limited freedom: 5.89%
- Some freedom: 52.03%
- A lot of freedom: 41.37%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 2.98%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 14.45%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.72%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 36%
- Every day: 25.86%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 38.28%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 19.95%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 3.45%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.58%
- Every day: 17.74%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 2.17%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 43.68%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 33.66%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.49%
- Every day: 0%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 10.93%
- Fairly serious: 6.23%
- Serious: 3.43%
- Very serious: 56.49%
- Extremely serious: 22.93%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2025
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
Where people with this background could move
- Analyze
Glaziers
Closeness 94/100
- Analyze
Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Plasterers and Stucco Masons
Closeness 93/100
- Analyze
Segmental Pavers
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Closeness 92/100
- Analyze
Fence Erectors
Closeness 92/100
Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 47-2022.00 · SOC 47-2022 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8