Should I be a Bricklayer?

Are you thinking about starting a Bricklaying Apprenticeship? Are you wondering if becoming a bricklayer is something you'll enjoy?  Here's a few comments from my experience to help you suss out if bricklaying is right for you.

If you have already decided to become a bricklayer and want to know how to get started, check out this article.

1) Good Pay

Let's be honest is certainly not the highest paying job in the world, however as you progress it becomes very comfortable. A big bonus is because you are earning from day one it's relatively easy to stay out of debt.

Apprentices normally start on an hourly wage and have their schooling or courses covered by the company. Most companies will expect a new worker to have his own hand tools while providing the more expensive power tools for use. When apprenticeships end, qualified bricklayers may be able to negotiate a wage per brick/block or per square metre/foot, this can work out well for a good brickie.

Some bricklaying companies will pay a set wage every week, normally a little lower but it's guaranteed. Other companies will pay you for your actual hours, meaning if you can't work because it's torrential out, you won't be paid. These employers normally pay better because of this risk and will try to have work on hand for those rainy days.

British Bricklayers Average Salary

An apprentice bricklayer in the United Kingdom earns around £23,413 every year. Once they become qualified it goes up to around £39,000 per year. With time the experienced bricklayers are making about £52,000 per year.

American Bricklayers Average Salary

An apprentice bricklayer in the United States of America earns around $29,250 every year. Once they become qualified it goes up to around $46,313 per year. And then the experienced bricklayers are making about $78,000 per year.

Australian Bricklayers Average Salary

An apprentice bricklayer in Australia earns around $39,802 every year. Once they become qualified it goes up to around $63,700 per year. With the more experienced bricklayers making about $103,740 per year.

2) Outside Work

For most bricklayers the idea of being stuck inside day after day just sounds depressing. If that's how you feel then bricklaying could be a great choice.

It's true there are many negative sides to outdoor work. The winter morning starts can be brutality cold and the rain can become frustrating. Most days you and your clothes will come home covered in brick dust and mortar. Washing machines will also take a beating if you are not careful.

But believe me you learn to work with those things. You dress warm in the morning and you get in a good routine of washing up when you get home from work. Something I try and do is throw my dirty clothes in a bucket of water, scrub the mortar off before it goes hard, ring out the water along with the brick dust and then throw them into the washing machine.

It sounds pretty bad I know, but those days of working in the sunshine and fresh air make it so worth it.

3) Satisfaction in Finished Jobs

This might not sound so important right now, but it's an awesome feeling when you've completed a build, it looks good and the customer is happy. There are not too many jobs out there that have the sort of satisfaction that comes from bricklaying. That even includes some of the other trades. I never hear a sparky bragging about his wiring or a plumber about his pipes. 

With bricklaying you can see the work you have done in a day. Not only that the buildings and walls you build will be around forever, every time you drive by in the future you can tell everyone, you built that.

4) Good Training

If you are planning on laying bricks straight from school, it will be a bit of a wake up call. The early starts while it's still dark out and then a whole day of physical work throwing around bricks and blocks takes some getting used to. In the end though it teaches you a valuable lesson, how to work hard.

Many get put off bricklaying after a few weeks because they can't handle the physical aspect of the job. Let's be honest there's easier jobs out there.
You just need to push through those early days and your body gets used to the daily punishment. In fact as long as you aren't stupid about lifting heavy loads, protect your eyes and ears with some good equipment, you'll view a day of bricklaying similar to a good work out.

Even if you decide to hang up your trowel for something else in future, the lessons learnt bricklaying will be invaluable, how to work hard without complaining, how to work with a team, how to work efficiency. These skills will stick with you forever.

5) Always have a Job

Many countries worldwide have a shortage of skilled bricklayers. That means once you're trained up and have honed your skills it's not difficult to pick up work. You could even have the luxury of choosing a company that suits you.

Back in medieval times after someone completed their apprenticeship they would become a journeyman. A journeyman would move from one town to the to the next gaining valuable experience and training from different workhouses.

These days many masonry companies will specialize in a certain niche of the industry. For example, some businesses focus on commercial block laying, others on stone masonry, others on brick landscaping, and so on. The point is there are so many aspects of bricklaying to master. If there is an type of masonry you enjoy or want to get better at, why not join a company that specializes in that area.

You are not even restricted to the country you live in. Many bricklaying qualifications are internationally recognized, and although things will be different country from country, it doesn't take long to pickup the idiosyncrasies.

6) Start a Business

The neat thing about becoming a brickie is very quickly you can start your own business and employ your own gang. Start up costs are generally quite low in comparison to other businesses. Keep in mind though that just because a brickie can lay decent bricks, doesn't mean they have what it takes to become their own boss.

If it is your goal to start a company, plan for it early. As an employee you can start accumulating some of the power tools and extra gear needed. Purchase a proper work vehicle.

Some bricklaying companies will be willing to train you up in the the business side of things. Learn as much as you can about quoting, ordering materials and then dealing with customers and suppliers.

Once you have successfully started up your own brick and block company, not only will you earn more but you get the flexibility to do jobs you want, when you want.

7) Future-Proof

Every now and then you might hear, "bricklaying is a dying trade." Don't worry that couldn't be further from the truth. According to Market Research, the global concrete brick and block industry is expected to grow by 4% over the next twenty years. With older bricklayers retiring, plus this increase in the market, brick and block manufacturing companies worry not so much about selling their product but rather about not having enough masons to lay it.
This is despite competition from new exterior cladding products.

The future of bricklaying looks very secure as people want to use brick masonry for it's many benefits:

• It's maintenance free
• It's insulative
• It's fireproof
• It's bug and rot resistant
• It stops projectiles during storm events
• It looks great
• It's now even preforming well during earthquakes

Conclusion

So there are some of the pros and cons of becoming a bricklayer. As you can probably tell it's something that I really enjoy. What's interesting though is that I struggled with bricklaying at first but as I got better it grew on me. If you are thinking of starting an apprenticeship and making bricklaying your career, go for it.