What You'll Do

  • Apply coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns.
  • Mix mortar and plaster to desired consistency or direct workers who perform mixing.
  • Create decorative textures in finish coat, using brushes or trowels, sand, pebbles, or stones.
  • Apply insulation to building exteriors by installing prefabricated insulation systems over existing walls or by covering the outer wall with insulation board, reinforcing mesh, and a base coat.
  • Cure freshly plastered surfaces.
  • Clean and prepare surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping.
  • Rough the undercoat surface with a scratcher so the finish coat will adhere.
  • Apply weatherproof, decorative coverings to exterior surfaces of buildings, such as by troweling or spraying on coats of stucco.
  • Install guide wires on exterior surfaces of buildings to indicate thickness of plaster or stucco and nail wire mesh, lath, or similar materials to the outside surface to hold stucco in place.
  • Spray acoustic materials or texture finish over walls or ceilings.

Essential Skills

Active Listening 3.0/5
Quality Control Analysis 3.0/5
Time Management 3.0/5
Speaking 2.88/5
Monitoring 2.88/5
Coordination 2.88/5
Service Orientation 2.88/5
Operations Monitoring 2.88/5
Reading Comprehension 2.75/5
Critical Thinking 2.75/5
Active Learning 2.75/5
Social Perceptiveness 2.75/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.
  • Artist: Creating original work and expressing ideas feels natural.

Common styles

Dependability, Attention to Detail, Cautiousness, Perseverance, Achievement Orientation

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Near Vision 3.75/5
Arm-Hand Steadiness 3.62/5
Manual Dexterity 3.62/5
Trunk Strength 3.5/5
Extent Flexibility 3.5/5
Multilimb Coordination 3.25/5
Static Strength 3.25/5
Gross Body Equilibrium 3.25/5

Technologies & Tools

A-Systems JobView Accounting software Autodesk 3ds Max Design Autodesk Maya Construction Software Center EasyEst Corel Paint Shop Pro Corel Painter Cost estimating software Dassault Systemes CATIA Embedded systems development software IBM Maximo Asset Management Linux Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Word Oracle Database Sage Construction Anywhere Salesforce software Turtle Creek Software Goldenseal

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Dependability (High importance: 4.41/5)
  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.24/5)
  • Cautiousness (High importance: 4.06/5)
  • Perseverance (High importance: 3.79/5)
  • Achievement Orientation (High importance: 3.66/5)

Want to see how YOUR strengths align with this career?

Take Free 15-Min Assessment →

How to Become One

Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for this career. Training is provided on the job.

Similar Careers to Explore

Tile and Stone Setters

99.9% similar profile

Painters, Construction and Maintenance

99.9% similar profile

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

99.9% similar profile

Potters, Manufacturing

99.9% similar profile

Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers

99.8% similar profile

Segmental Pavers

99.8% similar profile

Furniture Finishers

99.8% similar profile

Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

99.7% similar profile

Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Applicator Artisan Artisan Plasterer Decorative Plasterer Dry Plasterer Hard Surface Plasterer Mason Mason Plasterer Modeler Molding Plasterer Ornamental Plasterer Plaster and Stucco Worker Plaster Applicator Plaster Mechanic Plaster Molder Plasterer Plasterer Journeyman Plastering Contractor Stucco Applicator Stucco Mason Stucco Plasterer Stucco Worker Swimming Pool Plasterer Synthetic Plasterer

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.