Watch clips from "How It's Made" to see how objects like artificial limbs, nails, footballs, mustard, and more are made. Choose a few to watch--which one surprised you most?

Watch how the objects all around us are made.

Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers

Paint, coat, or decorate articles, such as furniture, glass, plateware, pottery, jewelry, toys, books, or leather.

Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.

Realistic

Work involves creating original visual artwork, performances, written works, food, or music for a variety of media, or applying artistic principles to the design of various objects and materials. Artistic occupations are often associated with visual arts, applied arts and design, performing arts, music, creative writing, media, or culinary art.

Artistic

Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Conventional

Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

Social

Work involves studying and researching non-living objects, living organisms, disease or other forms of impairment, or human behavior. Investigative occupations are often associated with physical, life, medical, or social sciences, and can be found in the fields of humanities, mathematics/statistics, information technology, or health care service.

Investigative

Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.

Enterprising

Job Zone One: Little or No Preparation Needed

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

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

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.

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

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.

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.

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.

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

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

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

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Painting Workers

Production Occupations

Other Production Occupations

Apply coatings, such as paint, ink, or lacquer, to protect or decorate workpiece surfaces, using spray guns, pens, or brushes.

Examine finished surfaces of workpieces to verify conformance to specifications and retouch any defective areas.

Clean and maintain tools and equipment, using solvents, brushes, and rags.

Read job orders and inspect workpieces to determine work procedures and materials required.

Select and mix ingredients to prepare coating substances according to specifications, using paddles or mechanical mixers.

Place coated workpieces in ovens or dryers for specified times to dry or harden finishes.

Clean surfaces of workpieces in preparation for coating, using cleaning fluids, solvents, brushes, scrapers, steam, sandpaper, or cloth.

Conceal blemishes in workpieces, such as nicks and dents, using fillers such as putty.

Rinse, drain, or wipe coated workpieces to remove excess coating material or to facilitate setting of finish coats on workpieces.

Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers

Overview

Career

What Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers Do

Other Job Titles Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers

Overview

Career

What Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers Do

Other Job Titles Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Education

Level of Education Attained by Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers

Related Careers