Expand mobile version menu

Brickmason

salary graphic

AVG. SALARY

$62,320

education graphic

EDUCATION

High school (GED) +

job outlook graphic

JOB OUTLOOK

Stable

What To Learn

High School

What high school courses should you take if you're interested in this career? Get your answers from the Architecture and Construction cluster Construction pathway.

Beyond High School

Here's a list of programs that you should consider if you're interested in this career:

Education Level

Education training and experience are required at different levels for success in different occupations.

High school (GED), plus on-the-job training

Most masons have a high school diploma or equivalent and learn either through an apprenticeship program or on the job.

Insider Info

Additional Information

If you're interested in this ancient skilled craft, the first thing to do is to start hanging around construction sites. Don't get in the way or trespass. Just watch the people who are working and let the foreman or contractor know that you want to work.

Laborer jobs on construction sites aren't that hard to find. It's often very hard work, but it is a way to get involved in this field. From there, you have to make it known what you're specifically interested in.

Apprenticeships in bricklaying and masonry are three or four years long. For example, the apprenticeship program with the Arizona Masonry Contractors Association (AMCA) takes three years to complete. At the end you get a bricklayer's journeyman card.

"You earn while you learn, and... your wages start at 60 percent of a journeyman's rate, which is somewhere around $11 an hour starting," says Bob Ahlers, president of the AMCA. "And as the program progresses you get increases every six months... as long as your job performance is up to snuff and your grades and attendance in class are where they need to be."

Veterans say that, even after an apprenticeship, masons will spend years learning the finer points of the trade from their more experienced counterparts.

There are also technical institutes with masonry programs. They offer hands-on experience with guided training that can be put towards apprenticeship time. Check with your local technical institutes and community colleges for details.

"College education, as in trade school, you definitely need that," says bricklayer Ken Rutley. "There are guys that have learned just on the go -- they lay the brick and that's something you learn on the job mostly. But as for the building codes, and there's actually a lot of other stuff involved to get your (journeyman's) ticket, and that you definitely have to go for school for."

Business courses are also helpful if you hope to move into management or start your own masonry business someday.

Contact

  • Email Support
  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900
  • North Dakota Career Resource Network
    ndcrn@nd.gov | (701) 328-9733

Support