Explore by Career/Construction and Extraction
Tapers
Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surface for painting or papering.
- Median pay
- $64,700
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +0.1%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- No formal educational credential
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Time Management
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
What they do
- Spread sealing compound between boards or panels or over cracks, holes, nail heads, or screw heads, using trowels, broadknives, or spatulas.
- Press paper tape over joints to embed tape into sealing compound and to seal joints.
- Apply additional coats to fill in holes and make surfaces smooth.
- Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surfaces for painting or papering.
- Spread and smooth cementing material over tape, using trowels or floating machines to blend joints with wall surfaces.
- Sand or patch nicks or cracks in plasterboard or wallboard.
- Mix sealing compounds by hand or with portable electric mixers.
- Work on high ceilings, using scaffolding or other tools, such as stilts.
- Select the correct sealing compound or tape.
- Countersink nails or screws below surfaces of walls before applying sealing compounds, using hammers or screwdrivers.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.