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Bricklaying is probably the oldest and longest surviving building method around. All over the world, for tens of thousands of years, people have been stacking bricks. Depending on the time and place, those bricks were made of ice, clay, coral or concrete.

The Great Wall of China, the Mayan temples of the Yucatan and even the fire station down the road were made by bricklayers. Of course, the Great Wall and the Mayan temples are examples of bricklaying on a monumental scale. But they also are perfect examples of how bricks really stand the test of time.

Bricklayers build walls and other structures out of bricks or blocks. They might also be called brick masons, stonemasons or stonecutters. They use special cement called mortar to make the bricks stick together.

"The rewarding part is you go out and you build a new school building out of brick, and it's there, everybody drives by and sees it," says Bob Ahlers. He owns a masonry company in Arizona. "It gives you... a lot of satisfaction. And it's going to be there for a long, long time."

A mason is anyone who works with rock-based materials. So bricklayers -- along with tilers, chimney builders and people who work with cement or plaster -- are all masons.

Bricklayers usually work outside. Yet as masons they may also work inside, putting together floors, ceilings and hearths using marble, plaster or just plain stones.

A bricklaying job has to be planned before the work starts. Bricklayers must prepare the right amount and texture of mortar for the bricks they are using.

They must have their tools ready: a level to make sure the structure is square and even and a trowel to scoop mortar onto the top of a brick. Every brick must be placed carefully -- everything must square up perfectly.

If it's not done right, the bricklayer may end up with a lopsided wall by the time they get to the top. It can be tricky work!

Most bricklayers are employed either on contract or by the hour. Others have their own contracting businesses. In this situation, the bricklayer may only push paper and manage staff while others do the masonry.

There are also opportunities in restoring existing brickwork. This is especially true for historic structures that are being preserved. Even if no more structures are being built using brick, there will be restoration and repair work to do.

Bricklayers are contracted when something needs to be built with brick. This could be a homeowner who wants a new chimney. Or it could be a huge development company building a giant condominium complex.

Working hours depend largely on the job at hand. Sometimes the days are very long when a project is near completion. At other times, weather and daylight hours limit working time. It's hard to see what you're doing after the sun goes down!

You have to be physically fit to do this work. If you're not, you will be after a few months on the job. Bricklaying involves hauling bricks about and moving lots of concrete and mortar. You also have to be able to balance and climb on construction sites.

"It's an extremely physically demanding trade," says bricklayer Ken Rutley. "You need to be in shape. You can't be afraid of hard work, and you can't be afraid of getting dirty."

"But you don't have to be six-foot-three and 250 pounds either," says Ahlers. "I'm not. I went to work for my father-in-law and I weighed 130 pounds. It worked for me. He didn't think I was going to make it, but I did."

It takes a lot more than big muscles to lay quality brick. It takes thought, creativity and foresight to come up with a functional and attractive product.

"You have to have a head on your shoulders as well," says Rutley. "It's not like you just need a body. There's some figuring things out, and obviously you have to stay within building codes and stuff like that."

Women make up only a small percentage of workers in the field. But women are a growing presence in other areas of the masonry industry.

"I would say [there are few women], particularly on the labor end of it," says Christine Subasic. She's a consulting architectural engineer in the masonry industry.

"In the consulting end of it, it's still male dominated, but over the years there's been quite a number of women that have gotten involved," says Subasic.

Subasic says there are quite a few women teaching masonry courses at college, especially in the area of design.

"From the labor standpoint it's especially male dominated, but there have certainly been some inroads as far as women in terms of the more design aspects of masonry," she says.