Construction and ExtractionFind the work that fits.
Find skilled trades, construction support, building systems and mineral-extraction occupations.
Occupational percentiles are distribution points, not apprenticeship steps or union wage scales. Overtime, project schedules and self-employed contractor income require separate evidence.
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65 careers · Page 2 of 3
Helpers, Construction Trades, All Other
All construction trades helpers not listed separately.
Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters
Help brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, or tile and marble setters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Carpenters
Help carpenters by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Electricians
Help electricians by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Extraction Workers
Help extraction craft workers, such as earth drillers, blasters and explosives workers, derrick operators, and mining machine operators, by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying equipment or cleaning work area.
Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons
Help painters, paperhangers, plasterers, or stucco masons by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Helpers--Roofers
Help roofers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Highway Maintenance Workers
Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way. Duties include patching broken or eroded pavement and repairing guard rails, highway markers, and snow fences. May also mow or clear brush from along road, or plow snow from roadway.
Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall
Line and cover structures with insulating materials. May work with batt, roll, or blown insulation materials.
Insulation Workers, Mechanical
Apply insulating materials to pipes or ductwork, or other mechanical systems in order to help control and maintain temperature.
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining
Operate underground loading or moving machine to load or move coal, ore, or rock using shuttle or mine car or conveyors. Equipment may include power shovels, hoisting engines equipped with cable-drawn scraper or scoop, or machines equipped with gathering arms and conveyor.
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators
Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erect structures, or pour concrete or other hard surface pavement. May repair and maintain equipment in addition to other duties.
Painters, Construction and Maintenance
Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency.
Paperhangers
Cover interior walls or ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, or attach advertising posters on surfaces such as walls and billboards. May remove old materials or prepare surfaces to be papered.
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.
Pile Driver Operators
Operate pile drivers mounted on skids, barges, crawler treads, or locomotive cranes to drive pilings for retaining walls, bulkheads, and foundations of structures such as buildings, bridges, and piers.
Pipelayers
Lay pipe for storm or sanitation sewers, drains, and water mains. Perform any combination of the following tasks: grade trenches or culverts, position pipe, or seal joints.
Plasterers and Stucco Masons
Apply interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Assemble, install, alter, and repair pipelines or pipe systems that carry water, steam, air, or other liquids or gases. May install heating and cooling equipment and mechanical control systems. Includes sprinkler fitters.
Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators
Lay, repair, and maintain track for standard or narrow-gauge railroad equipment used in regular railroad service or in plant yards, quarries, sand and gravel pits, and mines. Includes ballast cleaning machine operators and railroad bed tamping machine operators.
Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
Position and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.
Rock Splitters, Quarry
Separate blocks of rough dimension stone from quarry mass using jackhammers, wedges, or chop saws.
Roof Bolters, Mining
Operate machinery to install roof support bolts in underground mine.
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About these career references
Occupation descriptions are adapted from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), under CC BY 4.0. Wages.fyi organizes the profiles into career-family guides and adds navigation and explanatory context. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Database license and attribution requirements.
Where shown, occupational wages use the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics reference available through official O*NET wage exports. A detailed career may share a broader wage group. Missing values remain unavailable; percentiles are not career levels or starting-salary promises. Read the methodology.