All About Tapers

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

Taper Responsibilities

• Work on high ceilings using scaffolding or other tools, such as stilts.
• Mix sealing compounds by hand or with portable electric mixers.
• Apply texturizing compounds or primers to walls or ceilings before final finishing, using trowels, brushes, rollers, or spray guns.
• Use mechanical applicators that spread compounds and embed tape in one operation.
• Remove extra compound after surfaces have been covered sufficiently.
• Spread and smooth cementing material over tape, using trowels or floating machines to blend joints with wall surfaces.

Taper Required Skills

Tapers state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

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.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Types of Taper Jobs

• Drywall Foreman
• Sheet Rock Taper
• Taper
• Drywall Finishing Foreman
• Drywall Mechanic

Taper Job Outlook

There were about 23,700 jobs for Taper in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Taper. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 2,100 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Taper are Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Watch out if you plan on working in Kentucky, Maine, or Kansas. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Taper Average Salary

The salary for Tapers ranges between about $31,020 and $91,070 a year.

Tapers who work in Hawaii, Illinois, or Oregon, make the highest salaries.

How much do Tapers make in each U.S. state?

State	Annual Mean Salary
Arizona	$46,980
California	$62,060
Colorado	$49,240
Connecticut	$56,380
Florida	$42,020
Georgia	$45,550
Hawaii	$81,840
Idaho	$32,030
Illinois	$75,810
Indiana	$47,760
Iowa	$57,840
Maine	$47,540
Massachusetts	$58,480
Michigan	$53,590
Minnesota	$55,430
Missouri	$60,220
Montana	$30,370
Nevada	$41,880
New Hampshire	$35,880
New Mexico	$49,160
New York	$63,490
North Dakota	$47,170
Ohio	$63,130
Oregon	$67,170
Pennsylvania	$55,570
Texas	$45,130
Utah	$42,750
Washington	$57,060
Wisconsin	$48,690

What Tools do Tapers Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Tapers:

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Dynamics
• Intuit QuickBooks
• Turtle Creek Software Goldenseal
• On Center Quick Bid
• Construction Software Center EasyEst
• DevWave Estimate Works

Becoming a Taper

What kind of Taper requirements are there?

How many years of work experience do I need?

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

Image Credit: via

More about our data sources and methodologies.