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

What is a concrete finisher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The job of a concrete finisher seems pretty self-explanatory. I mean, aside from finishing the concrete, there's not a whole lot more to it. Just to clarify, by finishing the concrete, they are in charge of making sure it's smooth and aligned.

The concrete work they focus on can be anything from floors, sidewalks, roads, or even curbs. Concrete finishers look for voids in the concrete to make sure no one steps on a crack and breaks their mother's back.

ScoreConcrete FinisherUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,674

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.5

Growth rate -2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.18%

Asian 0.94%

Black or African American 8.61%

Hispanic or Latino 26.67%

Unknown 3.52%

White 59.09%

Gender

female 3.84%

male 96.16%

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 concrete finisher

Explore concrete finisher education requirements

Most common concrete finisher degrees

High School Diploma

59.4 %

Diploma

14.2 %

Associate

11.3 %

Start to develop specific concrete finisher skills

Skills	Percentages
Hand Tools	18.72%
Work Ethic	14.80%
Finishers	8.53%
Sidewalks	8.17%
Expansion Joints	6.13%

Complete relevant concrete finisher training and internships

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

Research concrete finisher duties and responsibilities

Finish concrete structures using trowels, floats, straight edges, joiners, and screeds to obtain require texture and contour.
Replace and repair concrete or asphalt; framing; leveling; skil at using backhoe; bobcat; and whacker packer.
Rig or dismantle props or equipment, such as frames, scaffolding, platforms, or backdrops, using hand tools.
Clean hand tools, set up scaffolding for masonry jobs, mix mortar and keep everyone supply with block and brick.

Prepare your concrete finisher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your concrete finisher 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 a concrete finisher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable concrete finisher resume templates

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