Skilled Trades & Technical

Bricklayer

Build walls, chimneys, and walkways by laying bricks and blocks in mortar, one straight course at a time

Open interactive guide

What does a Bricklayer do?

Bricklayers, also called masons, work outdoors on houses, schools, and commercial buildings. They mix mortar, set each brick to a string line, and cut units to fit. It is heavy, careful work that suits strong people who like seeing straight, lasting results.

A day in the life

6:30 AMSet up scaffolding and stack bricks near the wall
7:00 AMMix a batch of mortar to the right thickness
8:00 AMLay the first courses to a string line and check them with a level
11:00 AMCut bricks to fit around windows and doors
1:00 PMTuck-point old mortar joints on a repair job
3:30 PMWash the wall, clean tools, and cover fresh work from rain

What's great

  • Work that lasts for generations
  • Paid apprenticeship as you learn
  • Skilled masons are hard to find
  • Path to your own masonry company

The hard parts

  • Very heavy lifting all day
  • Outdoor work in heat, cold, and dust
  • Weather can delay or cancel work
  • Tough on the back and knees

What is a Bricklayer's salary and outlook?

$29k – $72k
Salary Range
Apprenticeship
Typical Education
Growing

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $28,800 to $72,000 a year, with a midpoint around $48,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as Growing.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become a Bricklayer?

A common path is 3–4 year paid apprenticeship with classroom hours and on-the-job training. The ladder often runs from Apprentice Bricklayer to Journeyman Bricklayer, then Mason Foreman, and Masonry Contractor (own business). Other routes: Start as a mason tender or laborer; Union apprenticeship program; Vocational school masonry course; Learn stone or tile setting first.

  • Start as a mason tender or laborer
  • Union apprenticeship program
  • Vocational school masonry course
  • Learn stone or tile setting first

Career path

Entry level
Apprentice Bricklayer
Mid career
Journeyman Bricklayer
Senior
Mason Foreman
Executive
Masonry Contractor (own business)

Will AI replace a Bricklayer?

How much will AI change this job?

A little

AI will change only a small part of this job. Most of the work stays hands-on and human.

Bricklaying stays hands-on work, with only small AI changes ahead.

Bricklaying is a hands-on job that happens on real job sites, not on computers. AI might help plan projects or calculate materials, but laying bricks still takes a skilled human. This career will stay mostly the same, with people building walls, chimneys, and structures with their own hands.

AI can help with

  • Estimating how many bricks a project needs
  • Creating digital blueprints and design plans
  • Scheduling deliveries of materials to job sites

What stays human

  • Laying each brick straight and level by hand
  • Mixing mortar to the right thickness on site
  • Working safely on scaffolds and uneven ground

Skills to build now

  • Practice measuring and math for accurate spacing
  • Build things with blocks, Legos, or wood to learn structure
  • Join shop class or a construction club if available

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.