What Does it Take to Be a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer?

Job Description & Duties Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fire-proofing, or acoustical material.

List of Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer Job Duties

• Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.
• Apply or mount acoustical tile or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings or walls of buildings to reduce reflection of sound or to decorate rooms.
• Remove existing plaster, drywall, or paneling, using crowbars and hammers.
• Coordinate work with drywall finishers who cover the seams between drywall panels.
• Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.
• Mount tile, using adhesives, or by nailing, screwing, stapling, or wire-tying lath directly to structural frameworks.

Skills Needed to be a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer

Below is a list of the skills most Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers say are important on the job.

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

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

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

Related Job Titles for this Occupation:

• Drywall Sander
• Metal Furrer
• Drywall Finisher
• Metal Framer
• Drywall Installer

Is There Going to be Demand for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers?

In 2016, there was an estimated number of 119,500 jobs in the United States for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers.

New jobs are being produced at a rate of 1% which is lower than average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,200 new jobs for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers by 2026. The BLS estimates 10,500 yearly job openings in this field per year.

The states with the most job growth for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers are California, Texas, and Florida.

Watch out if you plan on working in Georgia, Virginia, or Kentucky. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

What is the Average Salary of a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer

The typical yearly salary for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers is somewhere between $27,490 and $83,010. A Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer median salary is $43,730.

How much do Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers make in each U.S. state?

Annual Mean Salary by State

State	Annual Mean Salary
Hawaii	$79,500
California	$61,820
Washington	$59,990
Oregon	$59,230
Minnesota	$58,530
Illinois	$56,010
Connecticut	$54,830
New Jersey	$54,200
Alaska	$51,560
Massachusetts	$49,980
New York	$49,600
North Dakota	$49,290
District of Columbia	$48,070
Pennsylvania	$47,690
New Hampshire	$47,380
Colorado	$46,620
Wisconsin	$46,450
Maryland	$45,280
Vermont	$44,920
Missouri	$44,430
Indiana	$44,300
Oklahoma	$44,130
Maine	$43,680
Delaware	$42,890
Kansas	$42,770
Michigan	$42,300
Wyoming	$42,030
Montana	$41,840
Arizona	$41,830
Kentucky	$41,720
Ohio	$40,810
Rhode Island	$40,720
Tennessee	$40,080
Arkansas	$39,780
Utah	$39,530
New Mexico	$39,330
Nebraska	$39,240
Nevada	$37,930
Texas	$37,870
Georgia	$37,570
North Carolina	$37,060
South Carolina	$36,940
West Virginia	$36,700
Virginia	$36,190
Idaho	$35,800
Louisiana	$35,520
Florida	$35,240
Iowa	$35,110
Mississippi	$34,960
Alabama	$33,680
South Dakota	$33,600

What Tools do Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers:

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Windows
• Microsoft Word

How do I Become a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer?

What education is needed to be a Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer?

How Long Does it Take to Become Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer?

Where do Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers Work?

Related Careers

Career changers with experience as a Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer sometimes find work in one of the following fields:

• Stonemasons

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics

College Factual

O*NET Online

Image Credit: Via Wikimedia Commons