Career Explorer Construction and trades
Human edge, steady
Plasterers and stucco masons
Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 66% 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 +2.8% 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)
- $57,660
- Job growth to 2035
- +2.8%
- Openings a year
- 1,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 22,900
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then long on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Apply decorative finishes
- Prepare mixtures or solutions
- Determine resource needs of projects or operations
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
- Build structures
- Perform general construction or extraction activities
What the work looks like
- Cover surfaces such as windows, doors, or sidewalks to protect from splashing.
- Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns.
- Rough the undercoat surface with a scratcher so the finish coat will adhere.
- Set up scaffolds.
- Clean and prepare surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Painters, construction and maintenanceHuman edge, steady, Index 71, +3.0%
- Structural iron and steel workersHuman edge, steady, Index 75, +3.1%
- Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfittersHuman edge, steady, Index 85, +2.4%
- GlaziersHuman edge, steady, Index 69, +1.9%
Also known as: Applicator, Plaster Mechanic, Plasterer, Plasterer Journeyman, Ornamental Plasterer, Plaster Applicator, Plasterer Mechanic, Plastering Contractor.
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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.