Career profile for Glazier

What does a Glazier do?

Glaziers install glass in windows, skylights, store fronts, and display cases, or on surfaces, such as building fronts, interior walls, ceilings, and tabletops.

What kind of tasks does a Glazier perform regularly?

Glaziers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Fabricate or install metal sashes or moldings for glass installation, using aluminum or steel framing.
Determine plumb of walls or ceilings, using plumb lines and levels.
Fasten glass panes into wood sashes or frames with clips, points, or moldings, adding weather seals or putty around pane edges to seal joints.
Grind or polish glass, smoothing edges when necessary.
Measure and mark outlines or patterns on glass to indicate cutting lines.
Set glass doors into frames and bolt metal hinges, handles, locks, or other hardware to attach doors to frames and walls.
Install pre-assembled metal or wood frameworks for windows or doors to be fitted with glass panels, using hand tools.
Cut, fit, install, repair, or replace glass or glass substitutes, such as plastic or aluminum, in building interiors or exteriors or in furniture or other products.
Prepare glass for cutting by resting it on rack edges or against cutting tables and brushing thin layer of oil along cutting lines or dipping cutting tools in oil.
Read and interpret blueprints or specifications to determine size, shape, color, type, or thickness of glass, location of framing, installation procedures, or staging or scaffolding materials required.
Drive trucks to installation sites and unload mirrors, glass equipment, or tools.
Measure mirrors and dimensions of areas to be covered to determine work procedures.
Cut, assemble, fit, or attach metal-framed glass enclosures for showers, bathtubs, display cases, skylights, solariums, or other structures.
Move furniture to clear work sites and cover floors or furnishings with drop cloths.
Load and arrange glass or mirrors onto delivery trucks, using suction cups or cranes to lift glass.
Pack spaces between moldings and glass with glazing compounds and trim excess material with glazing knives.
Cut and remove broken glass prior to installing replacement glass.
Score glass with cutters' wheels, breaking off excess glass by hand or with notched tools.
Secure mirrors in position, using mastic cement, putty, bolts, or screws.
Assemble, erect, or dismantle scaffolds, rigging, or hoisting equipment.
Cut and attach mounting strips, metal or wood moldings, rubber gaskets, or metal clips to surfaces in preparation for mirror installation.

The above responsibilities are specific to Glaziers. More generally, Glaziers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Performing General Physical Activities		Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Handling and Moving Objects

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Performing General Physical Activities

Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

What is a Glazier salary?

The median salary for a Glazier is $46,080, and the average salary is $50,970. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Glazier salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Glaziers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Glaziers earn less than $29,440 per year, 25% earn less than $35,900, 75% earn less than $61,300, and 90% earn less than $83,640.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Glaziers is expected to change by 4.7%, and there should be roughly 6,000 open positions for Glaziers every year.

Median annual salary: $46,080
Typical salary range: $29,440 - $83,640
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 4.7%

What personality traits are common among Glaziers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Glazier are usually higher in their Realistic interests.

Glaziers typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Glazier tend to value Working Conditions, Relationships, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Glaziers moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Second, Glaziers moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Glaziers moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Glaziers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, attention to detail, and cooperation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Glaziers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Achievement/Effort		Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Achievement/Effort

Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

What education and training do Glaziers need?

Working as a Glazier usually requires a high school diploma.

Glaziers need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Glaziers

16.2% did not complete high school or secondary school
50.0% completed high school or secondary school
22.9% completed some college coursework
6.0% earned a Associate's degree
4.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
0.3% earned a Master's degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Glaziers

Glaziers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as building and construction, mathematics, or customer and personal service knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Glaziers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Building and Construction		Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Building and Construction

Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Important Abilities needed by Glaziers

Glaziers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Glaziers need abilities such as arm-hand steadiness, near vision, and manual dexterity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Glaziers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Manual Dexterity		The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Information Ordering		The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Finger Dexterity		The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Manual Dexterity

The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Finger Dexterity

The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Critical Skills needed by Glaziers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Glaziers frequently use skills like reading comprehension, critical thinking, and coordination to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Glaziers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Coordination		Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Operation and Control		Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Operation and Control

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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