Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons
Help painters, paperhangers, plasterers, or stucco masons by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 77% 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 +1.5% 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)
- $40,470
- Job growth to 2035
- +1.5%
- Openings a year
- 700
- People doing it (2025)
- 7,600
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare mixtures or solutions
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Perform general construction or extraction activities
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
- Set up protective structures or coverings near work areas
What the work looks like
- Clean work areas and equipment.
- Supply or hold tools and materials.
- Apply protective coverings, such as masking tape, to articles or areas that could be damaged or stained by work processes.
- Smooth surfaces of articles to be painted, using sanding and buffing tools and equipment.
- Erect scaffolding.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Fence erectorsHuman edge, growing, Index 91, +5.6%
- Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
- PaperhangersHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +4.3%
- Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tendersHuman edge, steady, Index 78, +2.5%
Also known as: Helper, Painter Helper, Plaster Helper, Plaster Tender, Painter Assistant.
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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.