Floor Sanders and Finishers
What Floor Sanders and Finishers Do
Scrape and sand wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and apply coats of finish.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 25.7%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 2 of 5Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Job training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Building and Constructionimportance 4.1/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.1/5
- English Languageimportance 3.6/5
- Production and Processingimportance 3.3/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.0/5
- Mechanicalimportance 3.0/5
- Mathematicsimportance 2.9/5
- Designimportance 2.8/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Exposed to Contaminants4.9/5
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls4.9/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
- Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body4.7/5
- Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions4.6/5
- Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable4.6/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Tree Trimmers and Pruners97% skill match
- Rock Splitters, Quarry96% skill match
- Motorboat Operators96% skill match
- Terrazzo Workers and Finishers96% skill match
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers96% skill match
- Highway Maintenance Workers96% skill match
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic96% skill match
- Helpers--Production Workers96% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Operation and Controlimportance 3.1/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 2.9/5
- Time Managementimportance 2.9/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.8/5
- Quality Control Analysisimportance 2.6/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.6/5
- Service Orientationimportance 2.5/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Floor planning software
- FloorCOST Estimator for Excel
- Flooring Technologies QFloors
- Measure Square
- Pacific Solutions FloorRight
- Vimeo
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Perseverance
- Achievement Orientation
- Stress Tolerance
- Integrity
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- RealisticHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- EnterprisingLow
- SocialLow
- InvestigativeLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.