Career as a Painter by Institute For Career Research

Author:Institute For Career Research [Institute for Career Research]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Institute For Career Research
Published: 2018-02-01T06:00:00+00:00

The Professionals Speak

Now meet some skilled workers who make a living as painters, decorators, and wallcovering installers

The first subject is working in the historic district of a small city. The house the crew is painting this fine June morning is a three-story with a tower room in front. What catches the eye first is all the ornate wooden bric-a-brac which decorates this house. At least three paint colors are in use, the predominate color a creamy ivory, set off by salmon and blue accents. A sign proclaiming “She’ll Paint” is planted in the front yard, and while the sign itself is cut to resemble the curves of a large seashell, the first word is a contraction for “she will,” for this is a business founded a decade ago and still operated by a woman painting contractor.

“The sign goes up first at every new job site, and before we’re done, we usually have two or three new projects lined up,” the careerist explains. “People drive by and notice who’s working first. Then they see the sort of work we do. We focus primarily on historic renovation jobs, which require specific knowledge of authentic paint colors and materials. Our job is to restore these ‘painted ladies’ to the glory of a hundred years ago or more. It’s time-consuming, and most every job ‘grows’ because the owners keep adding to the work list. Say we first bid on the exterior painting, but then the owners want work done inside, or they want a porch swing refinished, or an outbuilding painted, too. One fellow had a large, ornate birdhouse built in a replica of the house, and we had to paint that to match. The name of the game is pleasing the customer, though. You’d be surprised how many referrals you get, even years later.

“You might say,” the careerist adds, “that we’re up to our necks in gingerbread,” a reference to the fancy bric-a-brac that trims porches, windows, doors and eaves of these old homes. “There are many painstaking details, which take time, compared to the simpler lines of newer homes. But these customers don’t seem to mind - these homes are showcases for historic architecture. Of course, I have to make sure my painters know what they’re doing and care about a quality job. As you can see, this work involves climbing, and sometimes making minor repairs to the ornate trim. We’re booked ahead for almost the entire next season.”

What about the long winter months, and the inevitable rainy days? “Usually, we just move indoors for awhile. I try to build in some flexibility in the schedule, and lately, we’ve been doing more paperhanging. More and more, our customers want historically-accurate wallpaper patterns inside, too. I’ve done some research on the subject and can now offer pattern books from several companies.”

Like most painting contractors, this individual must reduce the size of the payroll over the winter months, but noted, “as busy as we are all summer long, several members of this crew actually look forward to a month or two of unemployment.

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