Additional Information
If you're interested in this ancient skilled craft, the first thing to
do is to start hanging around construction sites. Don't get in the way or
trespass. Just watch the people who are working and let the foreman or contractor
know that you want to work.
Laborer jobs on construction sites aren't that hard to find. It's often
very hard work, but it is a way to get involved in this field. From there,
you have to make it known what you're specifically interested in.
Apprenticeships in bricklaying and masonry are three or four years long.
For example, the apprenticeship program with the Arizona Masonry Contractors
Association (AMCA) takes three years to complete. At the end you get a bricklayer's
journeyman card.
"You earn while you learn, and... your wages start at 60 percent of a journeyman's
rate," says Bob Ahlers, president of the AMCA. "And as the program
progresses you get increases every six months... as long as your job performance
is up to snuff and your grades and attendance in class are where they need
to be."
Veterans say that, even after an apprenticeship, masons will spend years
learning the finer points of the trade from their more experienced counterparts.
There are also technical institutes with masonry programs. They offer hands-on
experience with guided training that can be put towards apprenticeship time.
Check with your local technical institutes and community colleges for details.
"College education, as in trade school, you definitely need that," says
bricklayer Ken Rutley. "There are guys that have learned just on the go --
they lay the brick and that's something you learn on the job mostly. But as
for the building codes, and there's actually a lot of other stuff involved
to get your (journeyman's) ticket, and that you definitely have to go for
school for."
Business courses are also helpful if you hope to move into management or
start your own masonry business someday.