What It Takes to Build a Career as a Professional Painter

Last Updated on May 14, 2025 by Admin

Interested in becoming a professional painter? If you like keeping busy with practical work and have good attention to detail, this could be the ideal job for you. But before you get too ahead of yourself, it’s helpful to understand exactly what it takes to build a professional painting career—the good and the not-so-good.

Here’s everything you should know about this profession when you’re deciding whether or not it’s right for you.

You Need Physical Stamina and a Strong Work Ethic

Painting looks easy, but it’s hard work. You’ll know that even if you’ve painted a room in your home before—now imagine that level of work and effort all day, every day. You’ll be on your feet for hours, stretching and climbing ladders, often in awkward positions. You’ll also do a lot of lifting heavy tins and sanding walls, so your upper body will get a real workout.

If you want an idea of exactly what the job will involve, take a look at the portfolio of a successful painting company like pemcopainting.com. That’ll give you a good understanding of the projects you’ll be expected to take on. Unsurprisingly, if you get tired easily or struggle with repetitive tasks, you’ll find this job tough.

Speed is Helpful

As with most practical, hands-on jobs, you’ll need to be able to work fast as a professional painter, without cutting corners.

The faster you are, the more jobs you can take on and the more money you can make. That said, when the quality of your work is so clearly on display, this is not the kind of job where you can cut corners. Your clients will expect a perfect, even finish with clean edges and no drips.

Qualifications Aren’t Always Necessary

Painting and decorating courses are available at most colleges, and there’s no denying that they can give you a head start, especially if you’re going for commercial contracts later.

But that’s not to say that you’ll always need formal qualifications to get hired. Most employers care more about your work ethic and reliability in this job, as well as your experience. A good way to get experience, by the way, is to contact local tradespeople and ask them if they need help with prep work. They might pay you a bit of cash, they might not. Either way, it gets your foot in the door, and if you do a good job, they may choose to hire you—or at least give you a good reference for future employers.

Final Thoughts: Is Professional Painting Right For You?

Ultimately, if you like getting stuck in with practical work and aren’t afraid of getting dirty, and you’re a real stickler for detail, you’ll probably suit a professional painting role well. But if you can’t stand manual labour or need constant variety, you might want to rethink this career path.

Professional painting can be a steady and rewarding job—just make sure you’ve put some thought into whether or not it’s right for you before you pursue it as a career.

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