All careers

Tapers

Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surface for painting or papering.

What you’d do

  • Press paper tape over joints to embed tape into sealing compound and to seal joints.
  • Spread and smooth cementing material over tape, using trowels or floating machines to blend joints with wall surfaces.
  • Spread sealing compound between boards or panels or over cracks, holes, nail heads, or screw heads, using trowels, broadknives, or spatulas.
  • Work on high ceilings, using scaffolding or other tools, such as stilts.
  • Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surfaces for painting or papering.
  • Apply additional coats to fill in holes and make surfaces smooth.
  • Countersink nails or screws below surfaces of walls before applying sealing compounds, using hammers or screwdrivers.
  • Mix sealing compounds by hand or with portable electric mixers.

Skills that matter

  • Monitoring
  • Active Listening
  • Time Management
  • Coordination
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Speaking

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Drywall Finisher
  • Drywall Taper
  • Finisher
  • Taper Finisher
  • Drywall Mechanic
  • Patch Guy
See all careers
  • Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers

    Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings.

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

  • Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall

    Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

  • Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers

    Smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools.

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

  • Plasterers and Stucco Masons

    Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

  • Insulation Workers, Mechanical

    • Bright Outlook
    • Rapid Growth

    Apply insulating materials to pipes or ductwork, or other mechanical systems in order to help control and maintain temperature.

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

  • Roofers

    • Bright Outlook
    • Rapid Growth

    Cover roofs of structures with shingles, slate, asphalt, aluminum, wood, or related materials.

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one