The world’s population is perhaps on the rise. So, it is indeed necessary to build more and more buildings every day. More and more structures must rise. And people would have to use more and more vehicles. Of course, everything has to increase to cater to the increasing necessities and desires of mankind. So, it is apparent that a field like a construction field would have a very good future. Hence, becoming a painter is indeed a very good option that you can choose considering the prevailing situation. However, painting is also a diverse field. There are lots of subfields that you can engage in if you choose to be a painter. Anyway, we are going to focus on becoming a painter and we will tell you all that you need to know.
What Painters Do
Of course, as we told you in the previous art, there would be a very good demand for painters. So, before diving into the content of becoming a painter, perhaps you would have a keen enthusiasm to know what painters do. We can surely give you a good introduction to that.
Basically, there are different types of painters. So, based on the field that they are engaged in, the scope of work would differ. We would tell you all about the types in detail later in this article. But in order to get a general idea, it can be house painting, wood painting, metal painting, or auto painting. Whatever the field it is, we are going to give you a general idea.
Briefly, painters would have two types of tasks. They are the initial task of painting something and secondly the task of maintaining and repairing them. Although it looks simple, it is not. To be frank, it has a lot of complex procedures in it.
For instance, when it comes to repairing, the painter would have to fix the damages foremostly. Then only he can move on to his main task of painting. If it a painter in the field of construction, he or she would have to start it up by cleaning the particular surface, repairing the holes, removing cracked paint, taping off areas, and ultimately doing the painting task. But this is particularly different when you are going to start off a task anew. Then, you would not have to worry about the initial task. Therefore, performing some sort of a task anew might seem a little easier than doing a repair on it, especially in a field like painting. But that is not a barrier to becoming a painter.
What sort of a person should you be to become a painter?
Obviously, there is no precise answer to this question. But there are certain skills that we can consider. If you have them, your pathway to becoming a painter is pretty clear. Basically, if you have the ability to get a good color combination out of something, and if you are creative, these are characteristics of a good painter. Also, if you are good at working with your hands precisely and you are comfortable with heights, they too are important. Having these abilities does not mean that you must definitely strive for becoming a painter. But this means that you have the capability. Yet, it is not only the capability that matters.
A particular individual’s interest and passion in a profession also matter a lot. Whatever the profession it is, if you have a passion for that, you would probably be able to succeed in it. With time and experience, you can possibly develop your skills and techniques to a high standard. This way, people have excelled in their professions even if they had not showcased potential during their childhood.
However, if you have certain skills that can help you become a painter, what you should do is just improve and develop them. Then, you would be able to embrace success in your life perhaps sooner than you think you can.
Nevertheless, the qualities that we mentioned are not sufficient for you to access great heights as a professional. You need to have many other qualities that help you succeed as a professional. Alet we shall take a look at them later in this article.
How to be a Painter?
Becoming a painter is a step-by-step procedure. There is hardly any profession in the world that you can just become without any prior knowledge or experience. All the same, even to become a painter, there are lots of things that you should do to start it up. Although the steps to become a particular type of painter can be a little different from others, we hope to give you a general understanding of becoming a painter in general. Let us consider the education, training, certification, and advancement that you need to get if you wish to become a painter.
Education
Well, so what sort of education should you get if you wish to become a painter? Let us take a look. Mainly, you would not need any formal education qualifications in actual fact. But painters having a high school diploma or an equivalent (basically a General Education Development (GED) certificate) is an added qualification. However, you may sometimes need on-the-job training afterward. There are certain companies that offer you on-the-job training as well. Of course, the apprenticeship programs differ according to the type of job that you choose.
Training
And yes, let us move onto the training that you would need to have. As we told you, it is on-the-job training that you would get. So, it is through these apprenticeship programs that you learn the trade. During an apprenticeship program, you would be given training on how you should indulge in the industry. You can gradually improve yourself. Even if you make a mistake or two, you can indeed correct them. The senior workers (journeypersons) will guide you on how you must do a particular piece of work. And of course, you cannot work on your own. You specifically need to have certifications for that.
In terms of the time period an apprenticeship program would last, it is basically a few months. But we cannot be specific about the exact number of months it would take. This varies from company to company. Besides, it varies even with the type of painting field that you would like to join. Nonetheless, if you have any work experience or if you have completed any training before, these would be reasons for you to reduce the time that you would have to spend to finish off your apprenticeship program.
Anyway, the good thing about the apprenticeship program is that you get paid even during your training. But it is not the usual rate that a painter with certification would get. It is a little lesser rate. After that, you can engage in the profession and earn well.
Certification
Now, let us talk about the certification process. Perhaps, you may have all the skills that you may need to work as a painter. Yet, there must be a way to prove that you have the talent up to the right standard. For this, you need to have the certifications. So, what sort of certifications would you need to have? Let us have a look.
In fact, you can get state licenses and certifications. Perhaps, how they issue the certifications is particularly different from state to state. So, you must check this with your states for this. There are certain states that require work experience of several years as well.
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency provides certification for lead paint abatement. Likewise, there are various certifications and licenses that you can get. It basically differs from the field that you choose. So, complete the certifications based on the type of painting career that you are in.
Advancement
Obviously, advancement is not part of becoming a painter. Advancement is something that you can acquire after you become a painter. So, how can you advance? Well, it actually depends. But in general, there are opportunities for you to advance to positions such as training instructor, union officer, or business manager.
However, with experience, you can step into certain managerial positions as well. In fact, you can become supervisors, superintendents, and managers within a company. So, this way you can end up at a totally different destination although you start things having the aim of becoming a painter. Perhaps, you can become a far better professional after all.
Type of Painters
Of course, there are different pathways that you can take even if you choose to become a painter. Each of us has different tastes. So, even if your goal is to become a painter, you can decide on the type of painter that you would like to be. We classified the types of painters as follows.
- House Painters
- Wood Painters
- Metal Painters
- Auto Painters
Of course, we can consider each of the above types of professions to get a much better understanding of all that. Alright. Let us go ahead!
1. House Painters
Perhaps, it is basically the house painters that would come into your mind first hand by the term painters. It is because that is what most painters do. However, it is the painters who engage in the construction field working with painting buildings that we referred to as house painters. So, they would have to do painting tasks in houses and commercial buildings. As we told you earlier, this can be either with new buildings or renovations. Either way, there is so much to do for a painter of this sort.
If you are interested in this category, you can read about becoming a house painter. Then, you would be able to understand the profession better. Also, you would also like to get an idea about the tools of a house painter. Perhaps, that would also help you broaden your understanding.
2. Wood Painters
Next, we are going to focus on wood painters. This is yet another type of painter that you can turn yourself into. Of course, wood painters are the ones who paint furniture. This type of job would not be available in the construction field. You would have to go for a furniture manufacturing company to get employed as a wood painter.
Of course, the pathway to becoming a wood painter is a little different. Therefore, you would have to go through the pathway to become a wood painter in advance. And again, having a good idea of the tools of a wood painter is also necessary. Perhaps, it is with the right tools that you would be able to succeed in your profession.
3. Metal Painters
And here it is about metal painters. Needless to say, metal painters are those who are working with painting metal structures. This basically can be within a company or in a construction field as well.
Yet, the best is to learn how to be a metal painter. Then, you would be able to get a perfect idea. And yes, it is important to know about the tools of a metal painter as well.
4. Auto Painters
Auto painters refer to those who do the painting tasks of automobiles. Nowadays, the companies that manufacture vehicles on a large scale mostly use automated machinery for all their manufacturing tasks. Therefore, in such companies, there is no room for people to engage in such tasks because machines do all that. Yet, there are many other opportunities in medium-scale companies. In such companies, there would be a lot of opportunities for auto painters.
So, if you have a passion to work in the automobile industry, and you are good at painting, maybe this is probably the best option. You can read about becoming an auto painter and consider the possibility. Of course, again we have to remind you that the tools and equipment of an auto painter are far more different. So, you need to focus on all that if you wish to become an auto painter by profession.
How much can you make as a Painter?
The income that you would get as a painter would be different from field to field, company to company. Your wages also depend on your experience. So, we cannot possibly be exact. But we can tell you an average figure with which you would be able to get an idea. Averagely, you would get an income that would be ranging from $21000 to $64000 annually.
Working Conditions
Okay. So, we will take a look at the working conditions of a painter as well. Obviously, there is no profession in the field of construction in which you can work in the way that you want. In all these professions, you would have to stick to a tight schedule. For painters, the usual work schedule is about 40 hours per week. And that means you would have to work 8 hours per day during the weekdays. As a matter of fact, there are certain times, especially peak periods, you would have to work overtime. You would have complaints about your freedom then. But there is no way to help! That is the nature of the scope of work of a painter.
Skills that you need to have
Previously also, we considered a little about the skills that someone needs to have to have if he or she wishes to be a painter. But now, we are ready to get into a little bit of detail and go much deeper. First, let us make a list of the skills that you need to have.
- Technical skills
- Communication skills
- Physical skills
- Aesthetic ability
- Time management skills
To make it interesting, we thought of giving you an idea of all these as well. So, let us go keep going!
1. Technical skills
Of course, technical skills matter a lot if you wish to become a painter. This is solely a technical field. So, it is important that you pay attention even to the tiniest techniques that you need to adhere to. Perhaps, you may not know all the techniques at the time that you enter the profession. But it is important to master the techniques in order to become successful as a professional painter.
2. Communication skills
Communication skills also play a major role in terms of the career of a professional painter. It is not what you need that you should do. You should work to fulfill the interests of your employer or client. For that, you need to communicate effectively. In fact, effective communication is pretty important for a profession of this sort.
3. Physical skills
Yes, here is another important skill that you need to have. You need to have physical skills for certain. Painting is not something that you can do with mind games or something of that sort. This is something that you must do with your body engagement. Hence, you must definitely have the physical skills if you need to become a painter. In terms of physical skills, you must have the physical strength and physical stamina predominantly. So, you must have the capability of doing something till it ends without any problem. Your body must be sturdy enough for that.
Another important aspect is that you must be able to work at heights. If you suffer from acrophobia and you are afraid of heights, you possibly cannot choose to be a painter. You would have to go for some other profession. So, you must be able to work at heights if you aim to become a painter by profession.
4. Aesthetic ability
By aesthetic ability, we do not mean that you must have the ability to compose songs or something like that. But it means that you must be artistic enough to make choices about colors and their combinations. Sometimes, you would need to do this by yourself at the request of the client. This is why you would need aesthetic skills. However, this is not really important. Most of the time, it is as per the request of your client that you would have to do your painting jobs.
5. Time management skills
Any professional in the field of construction would need to be punctual. Most of the time, you work for a client and because of that, you need to be very conscious about your work schedule. Perhaps, you must be very attentive about managing your time. If you do not possess time management skills, that just means one thing. It means that you are not a successful person. So, have a plan for everything that you do. Manage your time, especially as a professional painter.
Conclusion
Of course, we talked pretty much about becoming a painter. We hope that you will be having a very good idea by now. So, dive into the depths of painting. Enjoy the profession! In fact, painting is to be enjoyed.
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