Photo: QUB1 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Job description
A typical job starts with measuring and marking guidelines and building a corner post as a reference, then laying courses of brick or block along a guideline while applying and smoothing mortar and cutting pieces to fit, finishing with clean, uniform mortar joints. The pace is often fast and deadline-driven, working outdoors in close proximity to other trades and directly with clients or contractors who may be anxious about schedule. Brickmasons range from residential specialists doing chimneys and walkways to commercial crews on large structural projects, and experienced masons often move into supervisory or estimating roles or start their own contracting business.
Pros
- Pay can reach $100k at the top of the range with just a high school diploma and apprenticeship
- Faster than average projected growth (3.2%) in a durable, always-in-demand trade
- Visible, lasting craftsmanship: walls and structures built to last decades
Cons
- Physically demanding outdoor work on your feet, handling heavy masonry materials all day
- Deadline-driven pace paired with regular contact with frustrated clients or contractors
- Regular exposure to hazardous equipment, heights, and the elements
A typical day
Mortar is on the boards by 7am, and the wall tells the day's story: today's lift is the second story of a school gymnasium, block laid to a line stretched taut between corner leads the foreman set at dawn. The rhythm is old and satisfying — butter, set, tap to the line, strike the joints when they're thumbprint-hard — and a good mason's wall rises plumb, level, and fast enough to earn the wage. Mid-morning the scaffold jumps a level, everyone's hands moving planks and frames. A brick veneer job later in the week will trade speed for finish work: gauged coursing around windows, weeps and flashing done right because water is masonry's patient enemy. Knees and shoulders keep score; the building stands for a century as the receipt.
Tasks at the job
- 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.
- Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens primarily outdoors, exposed to whatever the weather is doing, and most of the day is spent on your feet, and you work in close physical proximity to coworkers or the public for much of the shift. Noise levels can be distracting or uncomfortable. The role involves regular exposure to hazardous equipment or conditions and contaminants and working at heights, and specialized protective equipment is standard.
The pace is often fast, with real time pressure to meet deadlines. You'll regularly deal with frustrated or upset people as part of the job.
Education necessary or common
High school diploma; some on-the-job training or apprenticeship
Licenses & certifications
- Masonry apprenticeship completion (union or ABC/merit shop)
- OSHA 10
- Scaffold and forklift certifications
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- Masonry or Construction Trades courses at a career center — the direct pipeline
- Geometry — coursing, bonds, and layout are geometry in mortar
- Shop
- Algebra — estimating quantities and dimensions
- Drafting — reading plans
Clubs, activities & competitions
- SkillsUSA masonry competitions — nationals-level contests exist for this exact trade
- Habitat for Humanity builds
- Part-time construction labor
- Weight training
First steps you can take now
- Enroll in a career-center masonry program if your district has one
- Ask a masonry contractor about summer tender (helper) work — mixing mud and stocking brick is the traditional first job
- Take OSHA 10 construction online
- Build something small in brick or block at home — a garden wall teaches the fundamentals honestly
