Plasterers and Stucco Masons
What Plasterers and Stucco Masons Do
Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.
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
- 13.4%
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
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.2/5
- Designimportance 3.2/5
- English Languageimportance 3.1/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.0/5
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.0/5
- Mathematicsimportance 2.9/5
- Mechanicalimportance 2.8/5
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 Controls4.9/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
- Spend Time Standing4.6/5
- Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions4.3/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.3/5
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.2/5
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.
- Paperhangers91% skill match
- Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers91% skill match
- Painters, Construction and Maintenance90% skill match
- Insulation Workers, Mechanical90% skill match
- Structural Iron and Steel Workers90% skill match
- Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators90% skill match
- Cooks, Restaurant89% skill match
- Sewers, Hand88% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Quality Control Analysisimportance 3.0/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.0/5
- Coordinationimportance 2.9/5
- Service Orientationimportance 2.9/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 2.9/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.8/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 2.8/5
- Operation and Controlimportance 2.8/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Cautiousness
- Perseverance
- Achievement Orientation
- Stress Tolerance
- Cooperation
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
- InvestigativeLow
- SocialLow
- EnterprisingLow
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 plasterers and stucco masons make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1St. George, UT15.68× national avg
- 2Visalia, CA10.92× national avg
- 3Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL10.59× national avg
- 4Reno, NV9.60× national avg
- 5Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA8.29× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Painters, Construction and MaintenanceLateral Move
- Cement Masons and Concrete FinishersLateral Move
- TapersLateral Move
- Insulation Workers, MechanicalLateral Move
See the full career path from Plasterers and Stucco Masons →