Painting, coating, and decorating workers
SOC Code: 51-9123
Painting, coating, and decorating workers carries a 30% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $40,860 and +1.4% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 8,800 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 30% AI exposure, Painting, coating, and decorating workers sits 7 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 30% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
41/100
Painting, coating, and decorating workers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $40,860
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F +1.4%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B 30% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Painting, coating, and decorating workers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Painting, coating, and decorating workers keeps an No credential bar (109 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Painting, coating, and decorating workers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Painting, coating, and decorating workers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
30% Lower than most lower than 70% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Painting, coating, and decorating workers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Painting, coating, and decorating workers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Painting, coating, and decorating workers's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 51-9123) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Painting, coating, and decorating workers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Painting, coating, and decorating workers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Apply coatings, such as paint, ink, or lacquer, to protect or decorate workpiece surfaces, using spray guns, pens, or brushes.
- 2. Examine finished surfaces of workpieces to verify conformance to specifications and retouch any defective areas.
- 3. Select and mix ingredients to prepare coating substances according to specifications, using paddles or mechanical mixers.
- 4. Place coated workpieces in ovens or dryers for specified times to dry or harden finishes.
- 5. Clean and maintain tools and equipment, using solvents, brushes, and rags.
- 6. Read job orders and inspect workpieces to determine work procedures and materials required.
- 7. Clean surfaces of workpieces in preparation for coating, using cleaning fluids, solvents, brushes, scrapers, steam, sandpaper, or cloth.
- 8. Conceal blemishes in workpieces, such as nicks and dents, using fillers such as putty.
- 9. Rinse, drain, or wipe coated workpieces to remove excess coating material or to facilitate setting of finish coats on workpieces.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Time Management
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Service Orientation
Knowledge Areas
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Design
- Chemistry
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Painting, coating, and decorating workers?
Painting, coating, and decorating workers has an AI exposure score of 30%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Painting, coating, and decorating workers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Painting, coating, and decorating workers is projected to grow by 1.4% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 8,800 workers.
What skills are needed for Painting, coating, and decorating workers?
Key skills for Painting, coating, and decorating workers include Active Listening, Monitoring, Social Perceptiveness, and others. Typical entry-level education is No formal educational credential.
How much do Painting, coating, and decorating workers earn?
The median annual wage for Painting, coating, and decorating workers is $40,860, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Painting, coating, and decorating workers?
The typical entry-level education for Painting, coating, and decorating workers is No formal educational credential. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Painting, coating, and decorating workers?
Painting, coating, and decorating workers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 9 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Painting, coating, and decorating workers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (30% here).
- Actors · AI exposure 30%
- Aircraft service attendants · AI exposure 30%
- Butchers and meat cutters · AI exposure 30%
- Calibration technologists and technicians · AI exposure 30%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+1.4% here).
- Financial clerks, all other · growth +1.4%
- Rehabilitation counselors · growth +1.4%
- Special education teachers, preschool · growth +1.4%
- Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door · growth +1.3%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 81 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Painting, coating, and decorating workers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Painting, coating, and decorating workers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).