Mason / Bricklayer
You build walls, chimneys, and buildings that outlast everyone who made them, one brick or block at a time, mostly with your hands.
Also called: Bricklayer, Brickmason, Blockmason, Stonemason, Mason, Brick and block mason, Trowel trades worker
What it pays
Masonry pays a solid middle-class wage that rises fast as you get faster and more skilled. The U.S. median for masonry workers overall was about $56,600/yr in May 2024 (BLS); brickmasons and blockmasons specifically ran higher at a median of $60,800/yr. Union scale, overtime, and high-cost regions push the top end well past six figures.
Union jobs pay 'scale' (a set wage) plus a benefits package (health, pension, annuity) that can add $15-$25/hr in value on top of the cash wage. Overtime (time-and-a-half past 40 hours), 'show-up' pay, and travel/per-diem on out-of-town work all add up. Big regional swings: a mason in rural Oklahoma earns far less than one in metro New York or California. Piece-rate or production bonuses exist in some non-union shops, so being fast directly raises your pay. Winter layoffs in cold climates can dent annual earnings, so many masons bank money in the busy season.
What they do
A mason builds and repairs structures using brick, concrete block (CMU, short for "concrete masonry unit"), natural and cut stone, terra cotta, and precast panels, holding it all together with mortar. If you've seen a brick house, a block warehouse wall, a stone fireplace, a retaining wall, or a school built of CMU, a mason laid every unit. It's one of the oldest building trades there is, and it's still done largely by hand: you spread mortar with a trowel, set the unit, tap it level, check it with a level and a string line, and move on. Multiply that by a few hundred units a day.
There are a few flavors under the "mason" umbrella. Brickmasons and blockmasons (the biggest group) lay brick and concrete block for walls, partitions, and structural work. Stonemasons cut and set natural or cut stone for buildings, walls, walkways, and decorative work. Refractory masons specialize in heat-resistant brick for furnaces, kilns, and boilers in industrial plants. Closely related but counted separately by the government are cement masons (who finish poured concrete flatwork) and tile setters. Many masons cross over between these.
Who hires you: masonry subcontractors and general contractors on commercial jobs (schools, hospitals, retail, warehouses), residential builders, restoration and historic-preservation firms, industrial plants (for refractory work), and government/institutional projects. Some experienced masons go out on their own doing repairs, chimneys, fireplaces, patios, and small residential jobs. Work is split between union shops (tied to the BAC, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers) and non-union "open shop" contractors. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts about 294,300 masonry workers in 2024. It's physical, weather-exposed, and skill-based: the pay tracks how good and how fast you are.
A typical day
- Show up at the jobsite early (masons often start at 6 or 7 a.m. to beat afternoon heat), unload materials, and set up your work area with brick or block, mortar, scaffolding, and tools.
- Mix or check the mortar batch (the laborer/tender usually keeps the 'mud board' stocked), and snap chalk lines or set up string lines and story poles so every course (row) lands level and plumb.
- Lay the lead corners first, then fill in between them, buttering each brick or block with mortar, setting it, tapping it into line, and striking (tooling) the joints so they're clean and weatherproof.
- Constantly check your work with a 4-foot level, a plumb line, and a tape, because masonry mistakes are permanent once the mortar sets.
- Cut brick, block, or stone to fit around windows, doors, corners, and outlets using a brick hammer, chisel, or a wet masonry saw.
- Build and move scaffolding as the wall goes up, and haul materials up to height (this is where the body wear comes from).
- Clean excess mortar off the face of the wall, point up (fill) any thin joints, and clean tools before the mortar hardens on them.
- On repair/restoration jobs: grind out failed mortar joints and repoint them, replace cracked units, or rebuild a chimney or section of wall to match the original.
- Wrap up by covering fresh masonry against rain or freezing, tallying units laid, and prepping the next day's stock.
Where you work
Mostly outdoors and almost always on your feet. You work in heat, cold, wind, and sun, and rain or freezing temperatures can stop a job entirely (industry standards call for special cold-weather procedures once it drops below about 40°F, since mortar won't cure right without heated water, blankets, or enclosures). Expect to be standing, bending, kneeling, and lifting all day: brick run 4-5 lbs each but you set hundreds, and concrete block run 30-40+ lbs each. You'll work on scaffolding and at height, around saws and silica dust (cutting masonry releases crystalline silica, a real lung hazard that requires water-fed saws, vacuums, or respirators under OSHA's respirable crystalline silica rule, 29 CFR 1926.1153). Hours are typically full-time, daylight-driven, and seasonal in cold climates: busy spring through fall, slow or laid-off in deep winter up north. Commercial jobs may run longer shifts to hit deadlines. It's dusty, dirty work, your hands take a beating from mortar (which is caustic and dries out skin), and the trade is hard on knees, shoulders, and backs over a long career. Jobsites enforce hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, and steel-toe boots.
How to get in
There are two main on-ramps and they both pay you while you learn: a registered apprenticeship (best for structured training and a recognized credential), or starting as a helper/tender/laborer and working your way up by watching and doing. You do NOT need to pay for a degree to become a mason. The trade is learned by hand on real jobs.
The gold-standard path. You're hired and paid from day one while training on the job and in a classroom. The union route is through the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) and its training arm, the International Masonry Training and Education Foundation (IMTEF, often called IMI), which runs training centers nationwide and charges no tuition; non-union apprenticeships exist through ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors) and individual contractors. You earn a nationally recognized journeyman credential at the end.
Get hired by a masonry contractor as a tender (the person who mixes mud, stocks the scaffold, and keeps the masons supplied). It's hard, fast-paced work, but you're on the wall every day watching skilled masons and learning the trade. Prove yourself and ask to start laying. Many masons came up exactly this way without a formal apprenticeship.
A short masonry program (certificate or 1-year) teaches you trowel skills, blockwork, mortar, layout, and blueprint reading before you ever hit a jobsite, so you walk on more useful and get hired (and promoted) faster. Often combined with, not instead of, an apprenticeship.
The federal Job Corps program offers free bricklaying training, including housing and a stipend, for eligible young people, and can feed you straight into a registered apprenticeship. Graduates can earn IMI and OSHA credentials.
Apprenticeships
Length: 3 to 4 years (roughly 4,500-6,000 hours of on-the-job training plus about 144 hours of classroom instruction per year, though exact hours vary by local program)
Earn while you learn: You're paid the whole time. Apprentices typically start around 50-60% of journeyman scale and get a raise at set intervals, usually every 6 months or about every 750 on-the-job hours, stepping up through the scale (a common ladder is roughly 60%, 65%, 75%, 85%, 90%, 95%, then 100% at graduation). In the union BAC/IMI program there's no tuition, and tools and some travel/housing stipends are often covered.
How to find one: Three reliable channels: (1) The federal apprenticeship finder at apprenticeship.gov, search 'masonry' or 'bricklayer' by ZIP code. (2) The union route, contact your local BAC (International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers) chapter or its training foundation, IMTEF/IMI (imtef.org / bacweb.org), and ask about your nearest training center and how to apply. (3) The non-union route, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) chapters and individual masonry contractors that run their own DOL-registered apprenticeships. Job Corps offers free bricklaying training for eligible 16-24 year-olds.
Certifications
Awarded after you finish the required on-the-job training hours (roughly 4,500-6,000 depending on the local program) plus the classroom instruction. The certificate is issued by the U.S. Department of Labor and travels with you anywhere in the country.
A widely recognized, employer-trusted credential earned through NCCER's three-level masonry curriculum, covering masonry materials, layout, brick and block construction, and techniques. Your record lives in NCCER's national registry so you can show verified training to any employer.
Covers fall protection, scaffolding, silica dust, electrical, and general jobsite hazards. Cheap, fast, and the single most universally expected card in construction. Note this is voluntary safety training, not a license.
Certifies you to sample and field-test masonry materials, mortar, grout, and prisms to ASTM standards (C67, C140, C780). A path toward higher-paid QC and inspection roles; earned by passing a written and a performance exam.
Short certifications proving you've been trained and evaluated to safely operate the lifts and scaffolding masonry work depends on.
A standard state-issued commercial driving license; handy on crews that move their own material and rigs.
Licensing
There is no single national 'mason license,' and there is no U.S. trade license just for laying brick. (Don't be confused by 'Red Seal' masonry certification, which is a Canadian credential, not a U.S. one.) Most masons in the U.S. work as employees under their company's credentials and never need a personal license to lay brick or block. Licensing matters mainly if you go into business for yourself as a masonry contractor: many states and many cities/counties require a contractor's license (sometimes a specialty 'masonry' classification), which can mean passing a trade and business/law exam, proving experience, and carrying insurance and a bond. Always check your state contractor licensing board and your local city/county before bidding work on your own.
Licensing rules vary by state - check your state board.
Education
Minimum: No college required. Most masons enter with a high school diploma or GED, and some apprenticeships will take you without a diploma if you can pass an entry test. You mainly need to be 18, physically able, and reliable.
Helps: A high school shop, vocational, or technical class in masonry or construction is a real head start. Community colleges and trade schools offer masonry certificates (often 1-2 semesters) that teach bricklaying, blockwork, mortar, and blueprint reading. Basic math (measuring, fractions, area) and the ability to read a tape and a level go a long way. None of this is required, but it helps you skip ahead of someone walking on cold.
Skills you'll need
Technical
Physical
People & habits
Tools of the trade
The real deal
Pros
- Earn while you learn: no college debt, and you're paid from day one in an apprenticeship or as a helper.
- Solid pay that rises fast with skill and speed; experienced and union masons can clear $90k-$100k+.
- A real, portable, recognized credential (DOL journeyman certificate) that works anywhere in the country.
- Tangible pride: you build permanent things that can stand for 100+ years.
- Hard-to-automate hand skill, plus a retiring workforce, means steady demand for good masons.
- Clear path to running a crew or your own business with relatively low startup cost.
- Restoration and repair work is fairly recession-resistant and can't be prefabbed offshore.
Cons
- Physically punishing: it wears on your knees, shoulders, and back over a long career.
- Outdoor work in heat, cold, and weather; mortar won't set when it's too cold or wet, so jobs stall.
- Seasonal in cold climates, so winter layoffs can dent your annual income up north.
- Heavy lifting all day (block run 30-40+ lbs) and constant bending and kneeling.
- Real health hazards: silica dust from cutting masonry (lung disease risk) and caustic mortar on the skin.
- Working at height on scaffolding carries fall risk.
- Slower-than-average projected growth (~2% over 2024-2034) as prefab and tilt-up concrete replace some hand-laid work.
- Pay and steady work vary a lot by region; some areas have little commercial masonry.
Where it can go
Specializations
The core trade: laying brick and concrete block for walls, partitions, and structural work on homes and commercial buildings. The biggest and most common specialty.
Cuts and sets natural and cut stone for buildings, walls, fireplaces, walkways, and decorative work. Often higher-skill and higher-pay; includes both structural and ornamental work.
Installs heat-resistant brick and material in furnaces, kilns, boilers, and industrial plants. Niche, well-paid, and often involves travel to industrial sites and shutdowns.
Repairs and rebuilds historic brick and stone, matching old materials and mortar, repointing, and preserving landmark buildings. Steady demand that can't be prefabricated; skilled work.
Specializes in grinding out and replacing failed mortar joints, sealing, and cleaning masonry. A recognized BAC craft and a reliable repair niche.
A closely related trade finishing poured concrete flatwork (slabs, sidewalks, driveways). Many masons cross over; it's a separate occupation with its own ACI certification path.
Runs the crew, manages layout and schedule, and reads the full plans, or starts your own masonry business bidding and running jobs. The path to the highest earnings.
Start this week
- Search 'masonry' or 'bricklayer' by your ZIP code on apprenticeship.gov to see registered apprenticeships hiring near you right now.
- Call your local BAC (Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers) union hall or its training foundation (bacweb.org / imtef.org) and ask how to apply and where the nearest training center is.
- Apply to masonry contractors in your area for a tender/helper job, even if you've never touched a trowel; getting on a crew is the fastest way in.
- Get your OSHA 10-Hour Construction card (cheap, online or in person) so you're jobsite-ready before you even interview.
- If you're 16-24, look into free bricklaying training through Job Corps (jobcorps.gov), which includes housing and a stipend.
- Buy or borrow a basic brick trowel and a level and practice laying a small dry course or a simple wall in your yard to build hand feel.
- Get in shape for the lifting; show up reliable and on time, because that single habit will get you hired and promoted faster than anything else.
Job outlook
Steady, retirement-driven. Overall employment of masonry workers is projected to grow about 2% from 2024 to 2034, slower than the average for all jobs, but the trade still expects roughly 20,700 openings per year. Most of those openings come from replacing masons who retire or leave the trade, not from the field expanding. The bigger story is a graying workforce and a shortage of young people entering: contractors routinely report they can't find enough skilled masons, which is good leverage for anyone willing to learn.
BLS projects about 2% growth for masonry workers from 2024 to 2034 (below the ~4% all-occupation average), held back by prefabricated/precast panels and tilt-up concrete replacing some hand-laid masonry. But roughly 20,700 yearly openings plus heavy retirements mean real, ongoing demand for skilled hands, especially in restoration, repair, and commercial block work that can't be prefabbed.
Helpful links
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Masonry Workers - Official government source for pay, job outlook, duties, and how to enter the trade. The pay and outlook numbers in this guide come from here.
- Apprenticeship.gov Apprenticeship Finder - U.S. Department of Labor tool to find registered masonry/bricklayer apprenticeships near you by ZIP code.
- International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) - The masonry trades union; education, training, local chapters, and how to apply to the free apprenticeship.
- International Masonry Training and Education Foundation (IMTEF/IMI) - Runs the BAC/IMI training centers nationwide; careers info and an apprenticeship interest application.
- NCCER Masonry Craft - Standardized masonry curriculum and the NCCER credential used by many trade schools and non-union employers.
- Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) - Industry association with career info, training resources, and links to masonry training programs by state.
- Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) - Non-union channel for masonry apprenticeships and craft training through local chapters.
- Job Corps, Bricklayer Training - Free federal training (with housing and stipend) in bricklaying for eligible 16-24 year-olds.
- American Concrete Institute (ACI) Certification - Source for the Masonry Field Testing Technician and related certifications if you move toward inspection/QC.
- OSHA Construction Outreach (10/30-Hour) - Official info on the OSHA construction safety cards expected on jobsites.
Common questions
Do I need a college degree or any prior experience to become a mason?
No. Most masons start with just a high school diploma or GED, and many start with neither. You learn the trade by doing it, either through a paid apprenticeship or by starting as a helper/tender. No college and no debt required.
How much can I make as a mason?
Apprentices start around $17-$24/hr. A journeyman brickmason/blockmason earns a median of about $60,800/yr (BLS, May 2024), and the top 10% make over $90,000/yr. Union masons in high-cost metros, foremen, and contractors can clear $100k once benefits and overtime are counted.
How long does it take to become a journeyman mason?
A registered apprenticeship runs 3-4 years (roughly 4,500-6,000 hours on the job plus classroom time). If you come up as a helper without a formal program, figure 2-4 years to become a genuinely competent, fast layer. You're paid the whole way.
Is the apprenticeship free, and do I get paid?
Yes to both in the union BAC/IMI program: no tuition, tools often covered, and you earn wages from day one, starting around 50-60% of journeyman scale and getting raises (usually every 6 months or ~750 hours worked) until you hit full scale at graduation. Non-union apprenticeships also pay you while you train.
Is masonry hard on your body?
Honestly, yes. It's heavy, repetitive lifting (block run 30-40+ lbs) with a lot of bending and kneeling, done outdoors in all weather, and it wears on knees, shoulders, and backs over the years. Good technique, knee pads, lifting smart, and moving into foreman/estimating roles later all help you last.
Do I need a license to work as a mason?
Not to work as an employee laying brick and block; you just need your skills and basic safety cards like OSHA 10. You typically only need a contractor's license if you start your own masonry business, and that requirement varies by state and city (California's C-29, for example), so check your state contractor board before bidding work on your own. There is no single nationwide mason license.
Is there still demand, or is masonry a dying trade?
It's not dying, but it's growing slowly (about 2% over 2024-2034) because prefab panels and tilt-up concrete replace some hand-laid work. The bigger reality is a wave of retirements and too few young people entering, so there are about 20,700 openings a year and contractors actively struggle to find skilled masons. Good for anyone willing to learn.
Union or non-union, which should I choose?
Union (BAC) generally means higher set wages, a strong benefits and pension package, free structured training, and a portable credential, but the work follows union jobs. Non-union (open shop) can mean more flexibility and faster advancement at smaller shops, sometimes with piece-rate bonuses. Both can lead to a good career; pick based on what's hiring and strong in your region.
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