How To Become A Lead Painter: What It Is and Career Path

What is a lead painter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Lead Painters are responsible for supervising team operations and maintaining required standards in a painting project. Their duties include painting permanent structures, backdrops, cutouts, set pieces, faux treatment applications, spray painting, varnishing, and plastering. They also conduct work inspection of painters, implement equipment usage and work schedule, plan equipment maintenance procedures, undertake correction action to maintain work standards, and maintain material and payroll records. Other duties include submitting progress reports, assist in installation duties, and ensure work complies with safety protocols at all times.

ScoreLead PainterUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,823

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.4

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.88%

Asian 2.11%

Black or African American 9.28%

Hispanic or Latino 28.45%

Unknown 4.62%

White 54.66%

Gender

female 8.50%

male 91.50%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress Level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.7

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.5

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a lead painter

Explore lead painter education requirements

Most common lead painter degrees

High School Diploma

44.0 %

Bachelor's

21.2 %

Associate

16.8 %

Start to develop specific lead painter skills

Skills	Percentages
XRF	9.39%
Safety Procedures	8.89%
OSHA	8.18%
Coats	8.01%
Caulking	7.99%

Complete relevant lead painter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead painters 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 lead painter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead painter resumes.

Research lead painter duties and responsibilities

Manage painting crews in both commercial and industrial environments from swing stage to high boom work.
Set up portable equipment such as ventilators, exhaust units, ladders, and scaffolding.
Use of proper PPE per chemical uses.
Verify adherence to ISO requirements and quality control standards.

Get lead painter experience

Generally, it takes more than 10 years to become a lead painter. The most common roles before becoming a lead painter include painter, owner team lead and supervisor.

Prepare your lead painter resume

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

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