How To Become An Acoustical Ceiling Mechanic: What It Is and Career Path

What is an acoustical ceiling mechanic and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an acoustical ceiling mechanic. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.81 an hour? That's $49,532 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 4,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAcoustical Ceiling MechanicUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,532

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.3

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.33%

Asian 1.07%

Black or African American 8.85%

Hispanic or Latino 29.58%

Unknown 3.69%

White 54.48%

Gender

female 2.08%

male 97.92%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.8

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an acoustical ceiling mechanic

Explore acoustical ceiling mechanic education requirements

Most common acoustical ceiling mechanic degrees

High School Diploma

55.9 %

Diploma

23.5 %

Associate

11.8 %

Start to develop specific acoustical ceiling mechanic skills

Skills	Percentages
Scaffolding	44.55%
Snips	20.52%
Grid Systems	18.74%
Stilts	9.64%
Stud	6.55%

Complete relevant acoustical ceiling mechanic training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New acoustical ceiling mechanics learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an acoustical ceiling mechanic based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real acoustical ceiling mechanic resumes.

Research acoustical ceiling mechanic duties and responsibilities

Install commercial acoustic ceilings at various heights with the use of stilts and scaffolding.
Install acoustical ceilings by walking on stilts.
Work standing on ladders, or scaffolds.
Install acoustical ceilings using lasers and scaffolding or scissor lifts.

Prepare your acoustical ceiling mechanic resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your acoustical ceiling mechanic resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an acoustical ceiling mechanic resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable acoustical ceiling mechanic resume templates

Build a professional acoustical ceiling mechanic resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your acoustical ceiling mechanic resume.

Apply for acoustical ceiling mechanic jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an acoustical ceiling mechanic job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first acoustical ceiling mechanic job

Jeffrey Donley

Ceiling mechanic/ class A ceiling contractor , Fairfax acoustical ceilings

I started in 1980 as a helper for my older brother. He convinced me to get a job closer to my home as a “grid mechanic “. I did a learned almost everything from a guy in his late 50’s Paul Lockhart . I understand he’s was still running grid off stilts in his 70’s. Sadly he has passed. We didn’t have laxer levels then. We used water levels. In those days soda came in a glass bottle and we would use a 1/4” clear hose, sometimes 3/8” put one end in the bottle and hang the bottle with ceiling wire up, move the hose end around the room and make our marks . More complicated than that but not much just to describe. Get marks, chalk lines, nail molding, angel nails into studs or block or brick, fence staples into drywall to keep it looking good and more secure. Every body uses screws now. Measure off both ends of the long wall or depending on what you’re hanging to. Snap a line and start shooting pins in the deck or tying to bar joists or peelings . Transfer ground line to wall angle, pull jet line start 1st 3 mains pull a cross line and check for square, adjust around sprinkler heads or existing lite fixtures. Jump in and roll. I actually have 2 pairs of 42” stilt’s welded together so I can almost reach 12’.

I would love to teach younger people how to utilize this trade into a lifetime job. I can operate all equipment, well and beyond what is needed for ceiling insulation. I was a drywall boom truck operator for 2years, semi truck driver for 2years, can operate snorkel lifts of any size, scissors lifts, hand scalding, baker, brick, wheels or not.

How do acoustical ceiling mechanics rate their job?

5/5

Based on 1 ratings

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Acoustical ceiling mechanic reviews

5.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020

Pros

Specialty ceilings

Cons

Category D seismic zone Recycled ceiling tile , cuts horrible