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Tapers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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

Related: Cement Masons & Concrete Finishers Drywall & Ceiling Tile Installers Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, & Wall Insulation Workers, Mechanical Plasterers & Stucco Masons

Industries: Construction

Summary
Details

Countersink nails or screws below surfaces of walls before applying sealing compounds, using hammers or screwdrivers.
Apply texturizing compounds or primers to walls or ceilings before final finishing, using trowels, brushes, rollers, or spray guns.
Mix sealing compounds by hand or with portable electric mixers.
Install metal molding at wall corners to secure wallboard.
Check adhesives to ensure that they will work and will remain durable.
Sand or patch nicks or cracks in plasterboard or wallboard.
Work on high ceilings, using scaffolding or other tools, such as stilts.
Remove extra compound after surfaces have been covered sufficiently.
Use mechanical applicators that spread compounds and embed tape in one operation.
Select the correct sealing compound or tape.
Spread and smooth cementing material over tape, using trowels or floating machines to blend joints with wall surfaces.
Sand rough spots of dried cement between applications of compounds.
Spread sealing compound between boards or panels or over cracks, holes, nail heads, or screw heads, using trowels, broadknives, or spatulas.
Press paper tape over joints to embed tape into sealing compound and to seal joints.
Apply additional coats to fill in holes and make surfaces smooth.
Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surfaces for painting or papering.

Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

70580/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

33.93/hr

Currently Employed

3,970

Yearly Projected Openings

320

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Attention to Detail
Leadership
Independence
Integrity
Cooperation

Air compressors
Applicator brushes
Goggles
Hand sprayers
Ladders
Masks or accessories
Notebook computers
Paint brushes
Paint rollers
Personal computers
Plaster or mortar mixers
Power drills
Power sanders
Putty knives
Saws
Scaffolding
Screwdrivers
Spatulas
Tape guide
Trowels
Utility knives
Vacuum cleaners

Accounting software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Office suite software
Project management software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Tapers

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