Tapers
Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surface for painting or papering.
Most important skills
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security
- Education and Training
- Building and Construction
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Transportation
What the work involves
- Remove extra compound after surfaces have been covered sufficiently.
- Spread sealing compound between boards or panels or over cracks, holes, nail heads, or screw heads, using trowels, broadknives, or spatulas.
- Press paper tape over joints to embed tape into sealing compound and to seal joints.
- Mix sealing compounds by hand or with portable electric mixers.
- Spread and smooth cementing material over tape, using trowels or floating machines to blend joints with wall surfaces.
- Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surfaces for painting or papering.
- Sand or patch nicks or cracks in plasterboard or wallboard.
- Use mechanical applicators that spread compounds and embed tape in one operation.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (58.8% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (31.8%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (32.2%)
- 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 Tapers 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 90% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 84% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 89% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 86% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 62% of occupations compared | 53% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 99% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 75% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 78% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- 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: 15.75%
- Contact with others about half the time: 22.16%
- Contact with others most of the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Constant contact with others: 19.38%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 39.6%
- Fairly important: 10.62%
- Important: 26.56%
- Very important: 15.99%
- Extremely important: 7.23%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 11.05%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 40.2%
- Very important: 23.1%
- Extremely important: 25.64%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 13.45%
- Very little freedom: 10.5%
- Limited freedom: 10.62%
- Some freedom: 37.23%
- A lot of freedom: 28.21%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 23.34%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 52.59%
- Every day: 24.07%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 51.6%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 28.95%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.45%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0%
- Every day: 0%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 22.98%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 33.07%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.91%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 15.05%
- Every day: 0%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 11.64%
- Fairly serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Serious: 34.91%
- Very serious: 7.23%
- Extremely serious: 0%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
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Find more alternativesCompare skills with another job
O*NET-SOC 47-2082.00 · SOC 47-2082 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8