How Much Do Painters Make?

Written by Posted On Thursday, 06 February 2020 12:42

If you can support yourself with your earnings from it, being a painter is a good job. However, you may want to start at the bottom then work your way up. That way, you earn and learn new skills in painting at the same time. So, let’s see how you could become a painter. 

Kinds of Painting Jobs Available

You need to understand first that there are generally two types of painting jobs available out there. These are:

• Residential painting: This means that you would be painting homes, and not just buildings. You may be required to paint both indoor rooms and outdoor parts of the same home.

The good news about this kind of painting job is that it doesn’t require as many skills as the second type of painting job. 

• Commercial painting: This job is believed to require more skills than residential painting because you’ll be painting buildings that are way taller than a residential house. You may be required to paint both indoor and outdoor parts of the building where you’re assigned.

The good news about this kind of painting job is that you may be paid more than in residential painting because there are more complex demands on your skills.

So, you may need to make up your mind as to which one you can specialize in. Take note that a commercial painter may switch to residential painting because the skills required for commercial painting may overlap with residential painting. However, a residential painter might not get hired as a commercial painter, due to lack of sufficient skills.

How Much Do Painters Make Exactly?

Now that you know the two types of painting jobs, let’s now check just how much do painters make on the job:

• Apprentice: This is the entry-level kind of painter job, but you can still earn at this level. To start with, an apprentice can earn about $14 per hour.

It depends on the employer if the apprentice may be able to avail of benefits, such as medical and dental care. Some college-level students might apply for entry-level work like this one to earn some money on the side.

• Journeyperson - This is the next step on the painter’s career ladder. A journeyperson has more skills than an apprentice and may have apprenticed for a longer time under the same contractor. A journeyperson is expected to earn around $40 per hour.

A journeyperson might be eligible to avail of benefits, including medical, dental, and even pension, but that still depends on the employer.

Generally, a competent painter may be able to earn up to $100,000 annually. To reach that wage level, it’s important for a painter to keep upgrading their skill set. A painter with fewer skills will probably earn much less than that annual amount. 

How Much You Should Charge If You’re Hired as Painter

Depending on the client’s needs and the size of the property to be painted, payment for a painting job may vary. That is why painters charge by the hour because a more complex property will require more paint treatment, which takes more time to apply to surfaces. 

If you’re able to negotiate with the client on a pre-agreed-upon rate, you may charge from $20 to $50 per hour, depending also upon how skilled you are. If you’re estimating based on the amount of paint on hand, you could also charge by the square foot, which is more accurate.

If you really have artistic skills and knowledge on how to work with paint, you might opt for additional work as a mural painter. A mural is a type of artwork that’s usually painted on walls and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Depending on the level of skills, a mural painter may be paid up to $70 per hour. 

Not everyone can be that artistic so that’s an additional skill set all its own. However, take note that not every painting job will require creating murals so there might not be that many jobs for mural painters. So, just think of it as an additional side job, rather than your main occupation.

Career Advice for Painters

If you become a painter, you should be aware that this is not a white-collar job so there’s not much room for advancement up the career totem pole. Your pay might vary depending on which painting job you’re hired for. Also, the work may take you from location to location, from community to community, from state to state because you go where the work is needed. 

Generally, you just paint so you can’t expect much else; you only need to focus on painting skills. Some employers have so much work ready that they manage teams. If you want to handle a team, you may need some other skills so that your employer can see you’re qualified.

Market Yourself To Clients for Painting Jobs

If you’re an apprentice or journeyperson, you don’t have to worry about negotiating with clients because you just have to deal with the contractor who hired you. However, there may be times that there are no clients so you need a contingency plan on how you’ll earn if the contractor runs out of painting jobs to assign to you. 

If that’s the case, you may need to freelance. But, freelancers will have to find their own market at times. 

You should also bear in mind that most of your clients won’t require you to sign a written contract. Most of it would probably be just expressed verbally. If the contractor you work for has a large enough team and the work to be done is complex enough, then the client might have to sign a written contract so that the work can commence on the right path. This is especially true if you’re assigned to a construction site for a skyscraper or mall.

Conclusion

If you want to become a painter, you need skills in either residential painting or commercial painting. A commercial painter has more skills than a purely residential painter but may also do some residential painting as well. 

If you have sufficient skills, you might also become a mural painter. If you’re looking for steady work, you may need to apprentice under an established contractor. Not all painting jobs will give you benefits. 

Take note that this kind of work will require you to work where the painting job is to be done so be prepared as well to move around if necessary. Hopefully, you’ll be able to earn sufficiently from this job to survive. 

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Agent Resource

Limited time offer - 50% off - click here

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.