Helpers--Roofers vs Painters, Construction and Maintenance: $44K vs $49K Median Pay

Helpers--Roofers vs Painters, Construction and Maintenance: what changes?

Consider Helpers--Roofers if you want to help roofers by performing duties requiring less skill. Consider Painters, Construction and Maintenance if you would rather paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Helpers--Roofers and Painters, Construction and Maintenance. 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

Helpers--Roofers

National median pay (2025): $44,160
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less 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: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Check to ensure that completed roofs are watertight.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 600

Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.1% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Helpers--Roofers brief

Painters, Construction and Maintenance

National median pay (2025): $49,400
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; 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: Cover surfaces with dropcloths or masking tape and paper to protect surfaces during painting.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 24,900

Know before you choose

Long periods of standing are part of the normal workday.

See the full Painters, Construction and Maintenance brief

How the national numbers differ

Painters, Construction and Maintenance has the edge on annual openings

Painters, Construction and Maintenance is at 24,900 annual openings, compared with 600 annual openings for Helpers--Roofers.

Painters, Construction and Maintenance has the edge on projected growth

Painters, Construction and Maintenance is at 3% projected growth, compared with -0.1% projected growth for Helpers--Roofers.

Painters, Construction and Maintenance has the edge on median pay

Painters, Construction and Maintenance is at $49,400, compared with $44,160 for Helpers--Roofers.

27/ 100

Helpers--Roofers

58.5/ 100

Painters, Construction and Maintenance

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.

Detailed evidence