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Many glaziers learn the trade by working as helpers to experienced glaziers; however, employers recommend a 3- to 4-year apprenticeship program. Job opportunities are expected to be excellent.
Glaziers use their knowledge of construction materials and techniques to install glass. Other construction workers whose jobs also involve skilled, custom work are brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons; carpenters; carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers; cement masons, concrete finishers, segmental pavers, and terrazzo workers; and painters and paperhangers. Other related occupations include automotive body and related repairers who install broken or damaged glass on vehicles that they repair.
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Glaziers often work outdoors, sometimes in inclement weather. At times, they work on scaffolds at great heights. They do a considerable amount of bending, kneeling, lifting, and standing. Glaziers may be injured by broken glass or cutting tools, by falls from scaffolds, or by improperly lifting heavy glass panels.
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Glaziers held 49,000 jobs in 2002. Almost two-thirds of glaziers worked for glazing contractors engaged in new construction, alteration, and repair. About 1 in 5 glaziers worked in retail glass shops that install or replace glass and for wholesale distributors of products containing glass.
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In 2002, median hourly earnings of glaziers were $15.20. The middle 50 percent earned between $11.56 and $20.53. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $9.14, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $28.18. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of glaziers in 2002 are shown below:
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors $16.36
Building material and supplies dealers 13.13
Glaziers covered by union contracts generally earn more than their nonunion counterparts. Apprentice wage rates usually start at 40 to 50 percent of the rate paid to experienced glaziers and increase as they gain experience in the field. Because glaziers can lose time due to weather conditions and fluctuations in construction activity, their overall earnings may be lower than their hourly wages suggest.
Many glaziers employed in construction are members of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.
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