Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers
Paint, coat, or decorate articles, such as furniture, glass, plateware, pottery, jewelry, toys, books, or leather.
Also called: Decaler · Decorator · Glass Decorator · Glazer · In Mold Coater · Painter
Median pay (national)
$40,860
$28,490–$62,770 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
8,470
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+1.4%
~800 openings/yr
Typical entry
No formal educational credential
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for painting, coating, and decorating workers shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $62,770 versus $28,490 at the bottom 10% — 2.2x. The median of $40,860 leaves roughly 54% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +1.4% from 2024 to 2034 — slower than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 800 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 36 states with released data, New York pays the most for this role (median $68,140, +67% vs the national median), while Texas sits lowest at $28,570 — a 139% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Apply coatings, such as paint, ink, or lacquer, to protect or decorate workpiece surfaces, using spray guns, pens, or brushes.
- Read job orders and inspect workpieces to determine work procedures and materials required.
- Examine finished surfaces of workpieces to verify conformance to specifications and retouch any defective areas.
- Clean and maintain tools and equipment, using solvents, brushes, and rags.
- Select and mix ingredients to prepare coating substances according to specifications, using paddles or mechanical mixers.
- Place coated workpieces in ovens or dryers for specified times to dry or harden finishes.
- Clean surfaces of workpieces in preparation for coating, using cleaning fluids, solvents, brushes, scrapers, steam, sandpaper, or cloth.
- Rinse, drain, or wipe coated workpieces to remove excess coating material or to facilitate setting of finish coats on workpieces.
- Conceal blemishes in workpieces, such as nicks and dents, using fillers such as putty.
Tools & technology
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe FreeHand MX
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Microsoft Excel
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Design
- Chemistry
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security