Career profile for Brickmason

What does a Brickmason do?

Brickmasons lay and bind building materials, such as brick, structural tile, concrete block, cinder block, glass block, and terra-cotta block, with mortar and other substances, to construct or repair walls, partitions, arches, sewers, and other structures.

What kind of tasks does a Brickmason perform regularly?

Brickmasons are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.
Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw.
Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement.
Clean working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scraper.
Examine brickwork or structure to determine need for repair.
Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixtures.
Remove burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel.

The above responsibilities are specific to Brickmasons. More generally, Brickmasons are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings		Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events		Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Handling and Moving Objects

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings

Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events

Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

What is a Brickmason salary?

The median salary for a Brickmason is $55,080, and the average salary is $58,420. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Brickmason salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Brickmasons earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Brickmasons earn less than $34,250 per year, 25% earn less than $43,220, 75% earn less than $69,440, and 90% earn less than $89,380.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Brickmasons is expected to change by -5.3%, and there should be roughly 6,000 open positions for Brickmasons every year.

Median annual salary: $55,080
Typical salary range: $34,250 - $89,380
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): -5.3%

What personality traits are common among Brickmasons?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Brickmason are usually higher in their Realistic, Investigative, and Conventional interests.

Brickmasons typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Brickmasons typically have moderate Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Brickmasons typically have moderate Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Brickmason tend to value Support, Working Conditions, and Independence.

Most importantly, Brickmasons moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Brickmasons moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Lastly, Brickmasons moderately value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Brickmasons must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and integrity.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Brickmasons, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Independence		Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Independence

Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

What education and training do Brickmasons need?

Working as a Brickmason usually requires a high school diploma.

Brickmasons need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Brickmasons

33.1% did not complete high school or secondary school
43.3% completed high school or secondary school
15.7% completed some college coursework
4.0% earned a Associate's degree
3.4% earned a Bachelor's degree
0.5% earned a Master's degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Brickmasons

Brickmasons may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as building and construction, mathematics, or public safety and security knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Brickmasons might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
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.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Design		Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

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.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

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.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Design

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Important Abilities needed by Brickmasons

Brickmasons must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Brickmasons need abilities such as trunk strength, extent flexibility, and arm-hand steadiness in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Brickmasons, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Trunk Strength		The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Extent Flexibility		The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Manual Dexterity		The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Static Strength		The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

Trunk Strength

The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.

Extent Flexibility

The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Manual Dexterity

The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Static Strength

The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

Critical Skills needed by Brickmasons

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Brickmasons frequently use skills like critical thinking, coordination, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Brickmasons, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Coordination		Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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