What Does it Take to Be a Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer?
Career Description Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fire-proofing, or acoustical material.
A Day in the Life of a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer
- Inspect furrings, mechanical mountings, or masonry surfaces for plumbness and level, using spirit or water levels.
- Install horizontal and vertical metal or wooden studs to frames so that wallboard can be attached to interior walls.
- Cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools.
- Hang dry lines to wall moldings to guide positioning of main runners.
- Coordinate work with drywall finishers who cover the seams between drywall panels.
- Apply cement to backs of tiles and press tiles into place, aligning them with layout marks or joints of previously laid tile.
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What Every Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer Should Know
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Types of Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer Jobs
- Sheetrock Applicator
- Interior Specialist
- Sheet Rock Hanger
- Wood Lather
- Metal Lather
Job Demand for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 119,500 jobs in the United States for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer. The BLS estimates 10,500 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer are Utah, Colorado, and Oregon. Watch out if you plan on working in Kentucky, Mississippi, or Vermont. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
What is the Average Salary of a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer
The average yearly salary of a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer ranges between $27,490 and $83,010.

Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers who work in Hawaii, Minnesota, or Washington, make the highest salaries.
How much do Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $33,680 |
Alaska | $51,560 |
Arizona | $41,830 |
Arkansas | $39,780 |
California | $61,820 |
Colorado | $46,620 |
Connecticut | $54,830 |
Delaware | $42,890 |
District of Columbia | $48,070 |
Florida | $35,240 |
Georgia | $37,570 |
Hawaii | $79,500 |
Idaho | $35,800 |
Illinois | $56,010 |
Indiana | $44,300 |
Iowa | $35,110 |
Kansas | $42,770 |
Kentucky | $41,720 |
Louisiana | $35,520 |
Maine | $43,680 |
Maryland | $45,280 |
Massachusetts | $49,980 |
Michigan | $42,300 |
Minnesota | $58,530 |
Mississippi | $34,960 |
Missouri | $44,430 |
Montana | $41,840 |
Nebraska | $39,240 |
Nevada | $37,930 |
New Hampshire | $47,380 |
New Jersey | $54,200 |
New Mexico | $39,330 |
New York | $49,600 |
North Carolina | $37,060 |
North Dakota | $49,290 |
Ohio | $40,810 |
Oklahoma | $44,130 |
Oregon | $59,230 |
Pennsylvania | $47,690 |
Rhode Island | $40,720 |
South Carolina | $36,940 |
South Dakota | $33,600 |
Tennessee | $40,080 |
Texas | $37,870 |
Utah | $39,530 |
Vermont | $44,920 |
Virginia | $36,190 |
Washington | $59,990 |
West Virginia | $36,700 |
Wisconsin | $46,450 |
Wyoming | $42,030 |
What Tools do Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Windows
- Turtle Creek Software Goldenseal
- Palm OS
- On Center Quick Bid
- Job costing software
- Construction Software Center EasyEst
- Wilhelm Publishing Threshold
- DevWave Estimate Works
Becoming a Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installer
Are there Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers education requirements?

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers Are Employed

Below are examples of industries where Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers work:

You May Also Be Interested In…
Career changers with experience as a Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installer sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
Image Credit: Margo Wright via Public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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