Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Cement masons and concrete finishers
Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 78% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +1.6% by 2035, slower than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $57,020
- Job growth to 2035
- +1.6%
- Openings a year
- 13,600
- People doing it (2025)
- 205,000
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare mixtures or solutions
- Apply decorative finishes
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Perform general construction or extraction activities
- Build structures
- Position tools or equipment
What the work looks like
- Check the forms that hold the concrete to see that they are properly constructed.
- Set the forms that hold concrete to the desired pitch and depth, and align them.
- Spread, level, and smooth concrete, using rake, shovel, hand or power trowel, hand or power screed, and float.
- Monitor how the wind, heat, or cold affect the curing of the concrete throughout the entire process.
- Mold expansion joints and edges, using edging tools, jointers, and straightedge.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as more precast and prefabricated concrete products are installed and fewer workers are needed onsite to build forms and pour concrete.
- More of these jobs, as more precast and prefabricated concrete products are built off-site to be installed on-site by other workers.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Extraction workers, all otherHuman edge, steady, Index 89, +3.4%
- Construction laborersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.3%
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
- Roustabouts, oil and gasHuman edge, growing, Index 95, +3.6%
Also known as: Cement Finisher, Cement Mason, Concrete Finisher, Finisher, Concrete Mason, Mason.
Is this career on your child's list?
Build a free Career Playbook matched to your child, or get a 90-day Action Plan with dated next steps, written for your child by name.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.