Paperhangers
What Paperhangers Do
Cover interior walls or ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, or attach advertising posters on surfaces such as walls and billboards. May remove old materials or prepare surfaces to be papered.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 34.8%
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.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.7/5
- Building and Constructionimportance 3.5/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.3/5
- Mechanicalimportance 3.0/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.0/5
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.0/5
- English Languageimportance 3.0/5
- Designimportance 2.9/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls4.5/5
- Spend Time Standing4.4/5
- Spend Time Climbing Ladders, Scaffolds, or Poles4.3/5
- Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets4.2/5
- Freedom to Make Decisions4.1/5
- Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions4.1/5
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.
- Cutters and Trimmers, Hand96% skill match
- Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles95% skill match
- Insulation Workers, Mechanical94% skill match
- Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators94% skill match
- Food Batchmakers93% skill match
- Tapers93% skill match
- Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers93% skill match
- Food Preparation Workers93% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Coordinationimportance 3.0/5
- Time Managementimportance 2.9/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 2.8/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.6/5
- Service Orientationimportance 2.4/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 2.4/5
- Operation and Controlimportance 2.4/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Perseverance
- Achievement Orientation
- Self-Confidence
- Self-Control
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- RealisticHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- ArtisticLow
- SocialLow
- EnterprisingLow
- InvestigativeLow
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.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where paperhangers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ2.25× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard TilesLateral Move
- Painters, Construction and MaintenanceLateral Move
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating WorkersCareer Change
- RoofersLateral Move
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.