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Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers
Paint, coat, or decorate articles, such as furniture, glass, plateware, pottery, jewelry, toys, books, or leather.
Also Known As:
Decaler
Decorator
Glass Decorator
Glazer
In Mold Coater
Painter
Pottery Decorator
Silk-Screen Operator
Spray Painter
Sprayer
Wages
Annual wages for Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
8,900
1% Change From 2024
Explore Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- 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.
- Clean and maintain tools and equipment, using solvents, brushes, and rags.
- Conceal blemishes in workpieces, such as nicks and dents, using fillers such as putty.
- Place coated workpieces in ovens or dryers for specified times to dry or harden finishes.
- Rinse, drain, or wipe coated workpieces to remove excess coating material or to facilitate setting of finish coats on workpieces.
- Read job orders and inspect workpieces to determine work procedures and materials required.
- Select and mix ingredients to prepare coating substances according to specifications, using paddles or mechanical mixers.
- Examine finished surfaces of workpieces to verify conformance to specifications and retouch any defective areas.
- Clean surfaces of workpieces in preparation for coating, using cleaning fluids, solvents, brushes, scrapers, steam, sandpaper, or cloth.
- Apply coatings, such as paint, ink, or lacquer, to protect or decorate workpiece surfaces, using spray guns, pens, or brushes.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")