Painting & Wall Covering

Types of Degrees Painting & Wall Covering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many painting/painter and wall coverer graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Undergraduate Certificate	19
Associate Degree	17
Basic Certificate	4

What Painting & Wall Covering Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to painting/painter and wall coverer and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Painting/Painter and Wall Coverer Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Painting/Painter and Wall Coverer Majors

A major in painting/painter and wall coverer prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• 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.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Time Management - Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Painting/Painter and Wall Coverer Majors

As you progress with your painting/painter and wall coverer degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

What Can You Do With a Painting & Wall Covering Major?

People with a painting/painter and wall coverer degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	12.6%	$65,230
Painters, Construction and Maintenance	5.7%	$38,940
Paperhangers	5.3%	$38,090

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Painting & Wall Covering?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 94% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of painting/painter and wall coverer majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	13
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

How Much Do Painting & Wall Covering Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Painting/Painter and Wall Coverer majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $40,840 to $70,540 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Painting & Wall Covering

Some careers associated with painting/painter and wall coverer require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to painting/painter and wall coverer have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	19.9%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	48.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	11.7%
Some College Courses	16.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	1.6%
Doctoral Degree	2.2%

Online Painting & Wall Covering Programs

In 2020-2021, 11 schools offered a painting/painter and wall coverer program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	7	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	3	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Painting & Wall Covering Worth It?

The median salary for a painting/painter and wall coverer grad is $43,050 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 8% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $63,000 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Painting & Wall Covering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to painting/painter and wall coverer.

Major	Number of Grads
Building/Property Maintenance	1,289
Building Construction Technology	1,175
Building/Construction Site Management/Manager	910
Other Building/Construction Finishing, Management, & Inspection	616
Building/Home/Construction Inspection/Inspector	239
Insulator	62
Concrete Finishing/Concrete Finisher	52
Drywall Installation/Drywaller	52
Glazier	34
Carpet, Floor, & Tile Worker	30
Roofer	12

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.