Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers smooth and finish surfaces of poured concrete, such as floors, walks, sidewalks, roads, or curbs using a variety of hand and power tools. Align forms for sidewalks, curbs, or gutters; patch voids; and use saws to cut expansion joints.

• Check the forms that hold the concrete to see that they are properly constructed.
• Set the forms that hold concrete to the desired pitch and depth, and align them.
• Spread, level, and smooth concrete, using rake, shovel, hand or power trowel, hand or power screed, and float.
• Monitor how the wind, heat, or cold affect the curing of the concrete throughout the entire process.

Salary

Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers with little to no experience tend to make between $28780 and $34550 while the more experienced ones can earn over $56230 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Cement Mason and Concrete Finisher is to move to a higher paying state like HI. Right now, the highest paying states for Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers are HI, NY, IL, AK and WA.

However, a higher pay at HI doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at HI might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Cement Mason and Concrete Finisher is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had less than a High School Diploma followed by a High School Diploma.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Cement Mason and Concrete Finisher.

What is the job like

57% of Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers said they were satisfied with their job and 62% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Andy Aoyagi

FormLA Landscaping

Dirty. Noisy – Fun. We are always solving a problem. My work day can be a mix of things – basically, a lot of problem-solving. Some of it is artistry. We’ll work to understand our designers’ vision for a project and help them see what is possible and what is not – and why. We’ll … Read More

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Jestin Shank

Buck Bros

My day starts at 4:30-5:30 each morning, getting trucks loaded, fueled, etc. I am usually on-site pouring by 6 am. We normally spend the first half of the day pouring concrete and finishing. We rarely have time for lunch. Once we have poured and finished that morning we move on to the next job to … Read More

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Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like starting up and carrying out projects. They like leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

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