Glaziers vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: $57K vs $53K Median Pay

Glaziers vs Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators: what changes?

Consider Glaziers if you want to install glass in windows, skylights, store fronts, and display cases, or on surfaces, such as building fronts, interior walls, ceilings, and tabletops. Consider Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators if you would rather operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Glaziers and Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Glaziers

National median pay (2025): $57,080
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: Apprenticeship combines paid work and instruction; duration is not reported here. Check the full program and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate: Read and interpret blueprints or specifications to determine size, shape, color, type, or thickness of glass, location of framing, installation procedures, or staging or scaffolding materials required.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 3,900

Know before you choose

The usual entry route includes an apprenticeship. Interest in the subject is not a substitute for supervised, paid training.

See the full Glaziers brief

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

National median pay (2025): $53,340
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Start machine, engage clutch, and push and move levers to guide machine along forms or guidelines and to control the operation of machine attachments.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 3,100

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.9% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators brief

How the national numbers differ

Glaziers has the edge on projected growth

Glaziers is at 1.9% projected growth, compared with -0.9% projected growth for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators.

Glaziers has the edge on annual openings

Glaziers is at 3,900 annual openings, compared with 3,100 annual openings for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators.

Glaziers has the edge on median pay

Glaziers is at $57,080, compared with $53,340 for Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators.

49/ 100

Glaziers

42/ 100

Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

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