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Tapers

Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surface for painting or papering.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Select the correct sealing compound or tape.
    • Press paper tape over joints to embed tape into sealing compound and to seal joints.
    • Countersink nails or screws below surfaces of walls before applying sealing compounds, using hammers or screwdrivers.
    • Work on high ceilings, using scaffolding or other tools, such as stilts.
    • Use mechanical applicators that spread compounds and embed tape in one operation.
    • Sand or patch nicks or cracks in plasterboard or wallboard.
    • Spread and smooth cementing material over tape, using trowels or floating machines to blend joints with wall surfaces.
    • Seal joints between plasterboard or other wallboard to prepare wall surfaces for painting or papering.
    • Apply additional coats to fill in holes and make surfaces smooth.
    • Spread sealing compound between boards or panels or over cracks, holes, nail heads, or screw heads, using trowels, broadknives, or spatulas.
    • Install metal molding at wall corners to secure wallboard.
    • Check adhesives to ensure that they will work and will remain durable.
    • Remove extra compound after surfaces have been covered sufficiently.
    • Mix sealing compounds by hand or with portable electric mixers.
    • Sand rough spots of dried cement between applications of compounds.
    • Apply texturizing compounds or primers to walls or ceilings before final finishing, using trowels, brushes, rollers, or spray guns.

    Skills

    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.

    Abilities

    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    Knowledge

    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • 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.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    Education

    Education
    No formal educational credential
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    70580/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    33.93/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    3,970
    Yearly Projected Openings
    320

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability

    Tools

    • Air compressors
    • Applicator brushes
    • Goggles
    • Hand sprayers
    • Ladders
    • Masks or accessories
    • Notebook computers
    • Paint brushes
    • Paint rollers
    • Personal computers
    • Plaster or mortar mixers
    • Power drills
    • Power sanders
    • Putty knives
    • Saws
    • Scaffolding
    • Screwdrivers
    • Spatulas
    • Tape guide
    • Trowels
    • Utility knives
    • Vacuum cleaners

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Office suite software
    • Project management software