How To Become A Cement Finisher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a cement finisher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Cement finishers are specialists in the field of concrete that are responsible for putting, completing, protecting, and restoring cement in building and engineering projects. They set the correct shapes to ensure that their depth and pitch are right. They usually place the cement on the wagon chute, concrete pump, or wheelbarrow.

On a daily basis, cement finishers apply concrete using shovels and poles across the top of the forms to level the freshly placed concrete. After leveling the concrete, the surface is smoothed using either a hand trough, a long hand bull float, or powered floats. When the concrete has been flattened and floating, the cement finishers push the edges of the shapes and the cement and chamfer the edges so that they are less likely to crack.

Like any other job, you're going to need some technical knowledge on how to succeed in this role. Although there is no specific qualification to work as concrete finishers, they typically require a high school diploma. High school classes in algebra, mechanical drawing, and blueprint reading are found to be beneficial.

ScoreCement FinisherUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,711

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.5

Growth rate -2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.33%

Asian 0.94%

Black or African American 12.07%

Hispanic or Latino 28.24%

Unknown 3.67%

White 53.75%

Gender

female 4.42%

male 95.58%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

6.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.0

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a cement finisher

Explore cement finisher education requirements

Most common cement finisher degrees

High School Diploma

59.1 %

Diploma

16.8 %

Associate

10.6 %

Start to develop specific cement finisher skills

Skills	Percentages
Sidewalks	17.70%
Finishers	12.30%
Construction Sites	10.92%
Smooth Surfaces	7.19%
Expansion Joints	5.24%

Complete relevant cement finisher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cement finishers 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 a cement finisher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cement finisher resumes.

Research cement finisher duties and responsibilities

Construct formwork for concrete sidewalk, curb, and flatwork.
Build roads, floors and sidewalks, collaborate with workers to ensure smooth work flow and efficient organization
Employ a wide variety of hand and power tools including hoists, drills, precision measuring instruments.
Assist with project pursuits and evaluation of structural concrete scope assuring appropriate manpower, formwork, and sequencing.

Prepare your cement finisher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cement finisher resume.

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