The world is full of various diverse professions. And the diversity of each of these professions leads to creating a balance in the job market. Hence, you can decide on the profession that suits you the most. Your choices form your life. So, you would surely have to consider the pros and cons of each profession to arrive at a decision on what is the most suitable profession for you. Of course, our focus in this article is on how to be a glazier. Indeed, you would be able to get a very good idea about that through this article. Read and get to know.
What does a glazier do?’
Yes, before getting to know how to be a glazier, you would indeed like to know what a glazier does. Glaziers install and repair glass within various structures. So, it is mainly about glasswork when it comes to the work of glaziers. There is plenty of glasswork within and outside buildings. It might be the fixture of windows. Also, it might be the fixture of tempered glass for offices and shops and other such places. Glass partitioning is also part of this. Further, the work of glaziers can be anything related to glass apart from what we mentioned.
Thus, a glazier needs to know how to read blueprints and plans. And then comes the most important procedure. It is the installation. So, in the first place, he or she would have to remove the previous installations and existing glass. Then, the measuring process must take place. Afterward, he or she would have to cut the glass to the right measurement. The making and the installation of sashes and moldings are duties of glaziers as well. So, a glazier would have to perform tasks such as fastening glass into frames. And ultimately, it is the finishing part. It is adding weather shield or putty to add protection from unfavorable weather conditions.
In terms of glasswork at residences, it would be windows, shower doors, mirrors, and bathtub enclosures. And in terms of commercial buildings, it would be display cases, glass partitions, security windows, and so on.
Yes, this is what a glazier would generally have to do. You would still be anxious to know the step-by-step procedure. Keep reading! You will get to know how to be a glazier.
Steps to be a Glazier
Everything needs a proper order and procedure, right? Unarguably, becoming a glazier also needs a proper way. We are going to tell you what that proper way is.
- Get a high school diploma or an equivalent.
- Complete an apprenticeship program.
- Become a journey worker.
- Get licensed and certified.
- Grow as a professional.
- Own and expand your own business.
Okay, now let us move to descriptions. We assure you that if you follow these steps rightly, you would surely be able to excel in the field without any problem.
1. Get a high school diploma or an equivalent
In order to engage in most of the professions, you need to have a high school diploma or an equivalent. Of course, this is not a specific requirement that you need to have in order to be a glazier. If you choose a profession of this sort, you would probably need to have a high school diploma or an equivalent.
So, what is the basic purpose of having a high school diploma? It is to ensure that you have sufficient mathematics and science knowledge. Anyway, you need not have a pretty good understanding of these. But you need to know the fundamental and basic things.
Mainly, it is your basic mathematical skills that matter. Of course, you just need to have the competency to make measurements, decide on the amount of glass you need, and such things. And if you can arrive at certain logical decisions about the optimum way to perform a specific task, that is what you need to have. You just need to sort of the right thing to do in a way that both you and your client would benefit from.
Most people would intuitively have almost all of these skills. But still, it is important to verify that you have the skills that are necessary to be a glazier. Your high school diploma is indeed the verification. If you have a high school diploma or an equivalent, which is just a general requirement, it means that you can handle your profession. And it means that you are eligible to move forth in your career as a glazier. That is how getting a high school diploma or an equivalent becomes step number 1 in order to be a glazier.
2. Complete an apprenticeship program
The second step is to complete an apprenticeship program. Anyway, you need to be over 18 years for this. That is a statutory requirement. And here is one of the most effective steps to enter the field easily: completing an apprenticeship program. If you have a high school diploma, then you can start doing an apprenticeship program. Anyway, a high school course in mathematics would be pretty much useful for you to grow in your profession.
There are contractor associations and unions that sponsor apprenticeship programs. During the programs, you will get to know all that you need to know about your profession. This is indeed like on-the-job training. You would learn the things that you need to learn about the profession. Also, you would get to know how to use and handle the tools and equipment you would have to utilize. Hence, this is basically the stage where you can learn the art. You are always under the guidance of seniors. So, you would get to know the trade tactics and the necessary skills as well. At the time you begin, you would not have at least the slightest knowledge and skills particularly for this profession. But, you will be able to intensify whatever skills you have to suit the profession.
Typically, you would have about 144 hours of technical training during an apprenticeship program. Also, you would get about 2000 hours of on-the-job training for which you would be paid. So, our piece of advice is to make use of the apprenticeship programs you get effectively to get to know the profession better. However, this is how you must proceed if you want to be a glazier.
3. Become a journey worker
Step number 3 in our list is becoming a journey worker. In other words, you can call it moving to the industry after completing an apprenticeship program. In fact, once you complete an apprenticeship program, you would technically become a journey worker. During the apprenticeship program, you cannot work alone. Even for the tasks for which you would get a pay, you would have to work under the supervision and guidance of a senior. That is how it goes. But once you complete it, when you become a journey worker, you are free to work on your own. You can either work for a company or work as an individual glazier and get a good income.
In fact, you must now be able to perform all the tasks that a professional glazier performs. Now, you must be perfect in handling the necessary tools and equipment. Also, you must know to measure, cut, and install glass and the necessary metal framing. Anyway, reading blueprints and sketching must be pretty simple for you as you are a professional glazier. In addition, you must know all about the safety measures that you need to take in order to engage in the profession. Having a basic knowledge of first aid is also a necessity.
Of course, now you can call yourself a professional glazier. You wanted to know how to be a glazier, right? Yes, this is how you should work to be a glazier by profession. Yet, there is more. Your advancement does not stop here. Interested to know all that? Keep reading!
4. Get licensed and certified
We have been telling you how to be a glazier. And we have told you how you should start to be a glazier. Yes, now you may call yourself a glazier. But still, the world needs to know that you are. What should you do about that? Well, you need to get licensed and certified. How can you get the licenses and the certifications? Do not worry about that. We will tell you.
Anyway, this is not a statutory requirement for certain states. Yet, there are some states in which you need to have a license to practice as a glazier. This would show that you have the relevant competencies to work as a glazier. And this would ascertain that you are a responsible worker. So, the outer world can regard you as a professional who would not make blunder mistakes.
Mistakes in professions like this are really severe. Certain mistakes can even cost lives. So, your clients must be able to trust you. It is mainly through your licenses and certifications that you can win their trust initially.
Basically, the test that you would have to face in order to be licensed would be a combination of your work experience as well as your technical knowledge and skills. If you have sufficient knowledge, no doubt you can easily get through the specific test for sure.
All the same, you can get an optional certification as well. For instance, let us suggest you Architectural Glass and Metal Technician programs. Through these, you can broaden your knowledge. You can increase your exposure to the field. Also, you can use these to explore more new employment opportunities.
Stained glass glazier RED-HOT Career Guide; 2526 REAL Interview Questions Paperback – May 3, 2018
This guide by Red Hot Careers provides you with a comprehensive explanation of how you should proceed in your life in becoming a glazier. Basically, this book consists of 2526 real interview questions. And we think that they would be pretty much useful to you if you are willing to pursue your dreams in this career. Mainly, this book covers 70 interview topics including decision-making skills, client-facing Skills, brainteasers, sound judgment, unflappability, flexibility, strengths, and weaknesses, setting priorities, self-assessment, and many more. So, we think that this would be really useful to you.
Architectural Glass Art: Form and Technique in Contemporary Glass Hardcover – January 15, 1998
This is a book by Andrew Moor. This book is a comprehensive analysis of architectural glass and architectural glass art. “ So many fantastic ideas, traditional and contemporary. Great to see a book that shows ideas suitable to apply to large-scale projects as well as smaller jobs. Best glass book I’ve found so far.” This is how happy reader of this book has reviewed it on Amazon. There would be a lot of things for you to learn if you go through this book. So, we suggest you read this.
Glass in building: A guide to modern architectural glass performance : Pilkington Hardcover – January 1, 1993
The authors of this book are David Button and Brian Pye. This provides you with a descriptive outline of the modern architectural glass performances. And we are pretty sure that you would be able to get to know a lot of things that are very useful to your profession if you go through this book. And this has received good ratings and reviews on Amazon as well. “This book is really good. My architecture instructor highly recommended this book to us. (the students)” This is a review in favor of this book on Amazon.
5. Grow as a professional
And yes, now you can call yourself a professional glazier without any condition. But it is not now. You have read on how to be a glazier. If you adhere to our steps and become a professional, then you can quite easily become a successful glazier. So, now you can simply flourish as a professional. At times, earning a reputation as a good glazier is harder than becoming a glazier. You have to earn the trust of your clients and that needs a lot of things. It is not merely your skills that matter on such occasions. You just need to have certain personal strategies and skills as well.
Always, be honest with your work. Do not try to cheat your clients. There can be instances that reward cheating and deceit. As a matter of fact, this is indeed not a profession of that sort. You would just have to satisfy your customers with accountable performance. That is how you can be rewarded.
And you need to be effectively communicative. If you fail to get the idea of your clients or fail to provide them with your work plan, of course, you would not be in a stable condition. Good communication is really important.
Furthermore, be punctual. If you fail to stick to your work schedules, you would never be able to succeed. Whatever you do in life, punctuality is pretty important. Although it would not help you to become more skillful, it helps you to grow much faster as a professional.
Glaziers: Stories From People Who’ve Done It: With information on working conditions, expected earnings and more. (Careers 101 Kindle Book Series) Kindle Edition
Gigi Little is the author of this book. Gigi Little delves into this rapidly expanding artistic field, which combines strength and agility with problem-solving and accuracy. “Glaziers: Stories From People Who’ve Done It” explains all you need to know about the profession, from how changing glass techniques have affected the job to the layers of safety and common instruments. You will find details about working conditions, projected earnings, and anecdotes from real-life professionals with a penchant for the delicate who create unique vistas for homes and structures. Mainly, this book focuses on the science and history of glass and glazing, an overview of the job market, different types of glaziers, and so on. We are sure that this will be an interesting read.
6. Own and expand your own business
Now you know perfectly and clearly how to be a glazier. After becoming a glazier, you just have two choices. You can continue to remain a professional. That is the first option. On the other hand, you can start your own business or company and expand it. It solely depends on the choices you make and your ability. If you feel that you have good management skills, you can go ahead forming a company.
Anyway, this does not mean that you need to have management skills big time. While you go on working as an employee, you can learn the strategies for managing human resources. Yes, you can naturally learn these. Further, these are indeed sort of intuitive skills.
Nevertheless, you cannot just start up a company. You need to earn some money for that at first. Also, you need to get some work experience. After all these, you can start your own business. And it is not a mere pay you will get for that. Then, you can employ workers. You can get contracts and work on them. Of course, you would be able to make a lot of money out of all that.
But this would not be much important at the initial stage. Focus on how to be a glazier first. Afterward, you can move to own a business when you are exercising professional stability.
In fact, the expansion of your business depends on your ability to grow your business. That just has nothing to do with your skills in this profession.
Important Qualities you need to have to be a Glazier
Of course, a profession is not merely about its skills. You need to have a lot of other qualities as well. We are going to talk about them next. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists several important qualities. We thought of sharing them with you.
- Ability to work at heights
- Communication skills
- Detail-oriented
- Physical stamina
- Physical strength
- Reading comprehension skills
To inculcate these in yourselves, you may need to have a much better understanding. For that, you can read them comprehensively in the following part of this article.
Ability to work at heights
Mainly, you need to have the ability to work at heights. It is indeed a critical issue if you just cannot manage to work at heights. In a profession of this sort, you cannot be sure where you would have to work. Sometimes, it must be just on the ground. It might also be on the top of a skyscraper. If so, how are you going to manage? You would need to have conditions for those who hire you saying that you would only accept jobs at ground level.
Working at heights is indeed a little risky. But if you lose to fear, you would be able to do nothing in life. Anyway, if you do not have the capability to work at heights whatever the situation is, you would not be able to indulge in this profession. If you feel so, the best choice is to leave it out and try something else.
And if you feel like you would have to suffer from vertigo or if you have acrophobia, this is not a suitable career choice for you. If so, you would have to opt for some other career choice. Anyway, even for most other careers, you need to have the ability to work at heights.
Yes, what we have to tell you as a whole is not to be afraid of heights. Just feel normal and go on with your tasks. But make sure that you follow all the necessary safety precautions. And be cautious and vigilant all the time.
Communication skills
The next important quality that you need to possess is good communication skills. We discussed this a little bit earlier also. But this needs further discussion. It is because everything would fail to happen in the right manner when communication fails. It is that much important for construction work related professions like this. If you want to be a glazier, it is vital that you understand how much communication matters.
As a glazier, you must have good and effective communication especially with two types of people. They are your co-workers and your customers.
In terms of your co-workers, you need to convey information in an understandable and cooperative manner. If you miscommunicate, it can affect almost all the parties involved. So, always try your best to maintain effective communication standards with your co-workers. If not, you would ultimately be in real trouble. That is for certain.
Also, you would have to communicate with your customers and clients properly. You have to get their expectations into your minds in the first place. Also, you have to ask your doubts and get them cleared. If not, you would not be able to arrive at the completion of your work productively.
Yes, communication is the key. It is the hidden factor that builds up the proper mutual understanding between you and your customer. And it leads to making you do the correct thing.
Detail-oriented
Of course, you have to be detail-oriented undoubtedly. The basis for almost all of your work is the measurements that you make. So, it is important to be detail-oriented at all times when engaged in work.
As you would already know, you just cannot allow any mistakes to happen in the work field. Naturally, mistakes can cost a lot of money. They can even be the root course of fatal injuries as well.
Misjudgment is one of the most foremost reasons for mistakes to happen in this field. If you fail to make the right measurement, it would lead to an inability to perform your tasks correctly. And eventually, your work would lack quality and durability. There is no benefit of such improper work for any party. Because of that, it is immensely important to prioritize making correct measurements.
That is why being detail-oriented is requisite for a glazier. If you want to be a glazier by profession how detail-oriented you are is really going to be a concern.
Most other professions in the field of construction also require you to be detail-oriented. There is no doubt about that. When you consider details and facts as the lifeblood of your work, that just has to happen naturally.
Physical stamina
Here is yet another important quality that glaziers must possess. It is physical stamina. Basically, physical stamina is the ability to continuously engage in some physical activity for a long period of time. If you have this ability, you do not have to worry about engaging in this profession.
Endurance of this sort is really requisite. It is because you would never know how much work you would have to do within a day. Your endurance is necessary to turn your invaluable efforts into hard-earned finances. So, physical stamina is really important.
You cannot go and relax after working for an hour or two. Maybe, you would have to keep on working continuously. It is for your work that you get to pay. So, it is important to go on working and not turn your work time into your relaxing time.
If you feel pretty much exhausted after some work, you cannot go ahead in this profession. And you cannot succeed in any profession in the construction field. Perhaps, professions that require physical labor would not suit you then. Anyway, you can build up your physical stamina. If you do so, you would be able to survive in the profession.
Physical Strength
Of course, this is inevitably a necessary skill. And you would not be able to engage in the field of construction if you do not have physical strength. It is that important for activities that require physical labor big time.
Having physical strength primarily means that you are strong enough to do some physical activity. A profession like this depends on how strong you are. If you are a strong and sturdy person, it would become an extra advantage for you to engage in a profession like this efficiently. Needless to say, efficiency is one main key factor when considering professions of this sort. If you are efficient and can work in the right and expected manner, then you are up to the standard.
Why would you need physical strength for glasswork? Well, you would have to lift and carry glass fittings. And of course, they are pretty heavy. If you do not have sufficient physical strength, then you would not be able to carry them. And you cannot hire anybody else to do such tough work, can you? Because of that, physical strength is indeed a key factor that you must consider firsthand.
So, if you feel that you are not sufficiently strong, you would have to give up the idea of becoming a glazier. You must know how strong you are to handle a profession like this if you want to be a glazier. That is particularly very important.
Reading comprehension skills
Of course, reading comprehension skills are very important. We discussed the importance of having a brief idea of mathematics and science as well. And yes, what we need to emphasize here is that you need to be able to read and follow blueprints. There are instruction manuals as well. If you have the capability to understand what they say, of course, that is sufficient to engage in this profession in terms of reading comprehension skills.
Anyway, reading blueprints is part of most fields in the construction sector. So, whatever the field you choose, if it is in the field of construction, then you would have to know to read blueprints relevant to the particular field.
How much do Glaziers make?
This is sort of an eye-catching question. In the first place, we can tell you that glaziers earn really well.
According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for glaziers has been $44630 as of May 2019. In addition, the highest 10 percent earned over $83780. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $27860.
Nevertheless, the annual wage differs due to the industry the particular glaziers engage in. The median annual wages of glaziers involved in different sectors are as follows as of May 2019.
In the manufacturing sector, it is $33540. And it is $39270 in the building material and garden equipment and supplies dealing sector. It is $44030 for building fishing contractors. And it is $46500 for foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors.
For the most part, you would have to work full time if you aim to be a glazier. Also, there would be an increase in pay as you keep on maturing in this profession. And of course, the workers who work at heights would generally get higher pay than those who work at ground level.
The Future of the Industry
No doubt, you would like to know what would happen to this industry in the future. Of course, there would be more and more constructions in the future. Yes, more and more people will construct structures and edifices. So, they all would need glaziers. There is no doubt about that at all. Thus, there is a very good future for this profession.
According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a projected growth of 4 percent from 2019 to 2029 for glaziers. This growth is fast as the average of all the occupations. There will be about 5400 new job openings for employees. And yes, this is a very good number for certain.
Hazards of the Industry
It is mandatory to consider the risks and hazards of the industry as well. We have been talking about all the positive factors. If we fail to make you aware of the hazards, it would be a big mistake. So, here is a brief explanation.
Basically, the prominent hazards are falling from ladders and scaffolding. Also, exposure to harmful solvents is another prominent risk. Because of that, it is advisable to wear protective equipment when you are working. Perhaps, you can wear safety glasses, harnesses, and gloves to get the necessary protection.
Conclusion
So, we have almost come to the end of the article. Anyway, you would like to know about certain other professions in the field of construction as well. Yes, it is always better to consider all the opportunities. After considering all the career choices, you can decide on the most suitable career opportunity. Perhaps, you can consider how to be an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, a masonry worker, and so on. So, life goes on based on your choices. Make the right choice. It is for your lifetime.
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