Pros and Cons of Working as a Painter

You wonder whether you should become a painter or rather go for an alternative career path instead?

Great! Then this article is exactly for you since I show you all the pros and cons of being a painter in the following chapters.

Painter Job Profile

Advantages of Being a Painter

1. Working as a painter is not that stressful
2. Painters can work indoors most of the time
3. You can start your own painting business
4. Painters have regular workweeks
5. You will have free weekends and holidays as a painter
6. Good work-life balance
7. You can avoid classical office work
8. Your painting skills can also help you in your private life
9. You can help out your family and friends
10. Painters can earn additional money on weekends
11. Decent job security
12. You don’t need college education for becoming a painter
13. You can become independent pretty early in your life
14. Almost everyone can do the job
15. Good job if you like hands-on work

Working as a painter is not that stressful

One advantage of being a painter is that this job is generally not that stressful.

Sure, you will have busy periods where you have to finish many jobs at the same time.

Yet, most of the time, it will be rather relaxed and you will also not suffer from that much time pressure.

Instead, you will have enough time to do your work as best as possible so that your clients are happy.

Hence, becoming a painter can be great for you if you want to make the homes of people nicer but don’t want to have the same stress level that is prevalent in many other jobs out there.

Painters can work indoors most of the time

You will also have the privilege to work indoors as a painter most of the time.

Quite often, you will just paint the walls inside people’s homes and this means that you will not have to work under extreme outdoor conditions.

Consequently, while garbage collectors and many other people out there have to work outdoors during heavy snow, rain, or heat, you will be protected inside the four walls of your clients and can work in a rather cozy atmosphere.

Sure, in some cases, you will also have to paint things outdoors.

Yet, this is the exemption rather than the norm for most normal painters.

You can start your own painting business

Becoming a painter can also be great for you in case you want to have your own business sooner or later.

You can just work for a painting company for a few years, acquire some knowledge, save some money and start your own painting company afterward.

Sure, this is not for everyone since you will have to take care of many other things apart from the actual painting work.

Yet, if you are a rather entrepreneurial type of person, it will be rather easy for you to work self-employed in this field since the upfront costs to start a painting business are rather low compared to most other fields.

Painters have regular workweeks

Another benefit of becoming a painter is that you will also have regular workweeks.

In fact, most painters only work 9 to 5 and come home pretty early most of the time.

Yes, you will also have periods where you have to work longer.

Yet, most of the time, you will not work more than 40 hours a week and will also have a rather rigid schedule.

This means that you will also be able to plan your vacation way ahead since you can often be sure that you will not have to change your holiday plans.

Hence, a career as a painter can also be great if you want to work standard hours and if you are the type of person who wants to plan out everything and doesn’t want to be flexible.

You will have free weekends and holidays as a painter

Not only will you enjoy regular working hours most of the time, but you will also have free weekends as a painter.

You will usually also not work on national holidays.

Thus, while many other people have to work during these times to keep our system running, you will be the one who can spend this time on things you like more than work.

This can mean following your hobbies, meeting up with friends or starting a side hustle.

Good work-life balance

In general, most painters also report pretty good work-life balance.

Since they will have free weekends and holidays, rather standard workweeks and also not that much stress at work, many painters have enough energy left to do other things apart from work.

Therefore, working as a painter can also be great for you if you value your leisure and if you want to work to live and not live to work.

You can avoid classical office work

Another upside to working as a painter is that you can also avoid working in a normal office job like many people out there do.

While some of those people really enjoy their office job, most of them don’t like what they are doing at all and are just in their jobs to provide for their families and to make money to afford some luxury.

Working in an office job also implies spending lots of time in rather artificial environments and you will have to spend almost your whole workday in front of a computer screen.

In the long run, this can lead to serious mental issues since we as humans have never been meant to spend our day like that from an evolutionary perspective.

As a painter, you can avoid all of this since you will work with your hands and will also work in many different environments since your clients will change quite frequently.

Your painting skills can also help you in your private life

You can not only make a living from your painting job, but the skills you will learn during your career will also give you an advantage for projects in your private life.

For instance, it can be quite costly to get your house painted by an expert. In fact, you will often have to spend many thousands of dollars for a painting service.

In contrast, if you are a painter, you can do all the work by yourself and will not have to hire an external company for that.

Consequently, you will be able to save plenty of money on those things which you can invest for your retirement or spend on other things you like.

You can help out your family and friends

Another advantage of working as a painter is that you will also be able to help out your family and friends.

Everyone of us needs a painting service sooner or later and as we have seen before, this can be quite costly.

However, if you help your loved ones in case they need their home painted, you can do this for a pretty low price or even work for free.

In turn, your family and friends will be quite thankful for your support and chances are that they will also support you in case you might need help later on in your life.

Painters can earn additional money on weekends

Many painters also make additional money on weekends or in the evening.

After finishing their regular work, painters often have enough time left to work on other projects and to paint houses of friends and relatives.

This means that you will also be able to make some extra money in case you urgently need it.

Decent job security

If you are really good at what you are doing, chances are that you will also not have to worry that much about becoming unemployed as a painter.

There is a labor shortage in this field in many states and you will always have enough work to do if you have good references.

Sure, if you are really bad at what you are doing, nobody will hire you and you may get fired pretty soon.

Yet, if you provide decent quality work, chances are that you will have a rather easy time finding a job as a painter in our current state of the world.

You don’t need college education for becoming a painter

Another upside to a painting career is that you also don’t need any fancy education for working as a painter.

Most of the time, it will be enough to get your high school diploma and you can apply for work in the painting industry.

This means that you can avoid the enormous costs that are related to college education and also don’t have to go into student loan debt which could lead to serious financial problems later on in your life.

Instead, you will even be able to start earning money right after finishing school and will also be able to afford some nice things while many of your friends will financially struggle during this period of their lives.

You can become independent pretty early in your life

Since you will make decent money early in your life, you will also be able to become independent of your parents at a rather young age.

Especially if you don’t have a good relationship with your parents, this can be quite important since you will be able to stand on your own feet and can rent your own place thanks to your income from your painting job.

Almost everyone can do the job

You also don’t have any special skills for becoming a painter.

Sure, you should not become a painter if you have two left feet.

Yet, if you are the average person who can think logically to a certain extent, chances are that you will be suitable for a painting career.

Good job if you like hands-on work

In general, you will really like working as a painter if you like hands-on work.

While some people rather want to work with their brains, others need physical exercise to stay healthy and motivated in the long run.

Hence, you should also ask yourself what type of person you really are.

If you are the type of person who wants to work with your hands and likes to see progress every day, chances are that you will become happier with a painting career than in many other jobs.

As you can see, working as a painter can have many important benefits.

Yet, there are also many issues related to a career in the painting industry that I will discuss for you in the following.

Disadvantages of Working as a Painter

1. Working as a painter can be problematic for your health
2. You may have to wear a mask
3. Painters don’t make much money
4. Some painters even need a second job to pay their bills
5. Rather low social standing as a painter
6. Other people will have it easier in the dating market
7. Rather questionable future job prospects
8. Being a painter implies physical work
9. Teleworking is not possible for painters
10. Working as a painter may cause problems once you get older
11. Old-age poverty can be an issue
12. Painting may become boring in the long run
13. Difficult to switch fields as a painter

Working as a painter can be problematic for your health

One downside to being a painter is that it can be quite problematic for your health.

Quite often, you will be surrounded by harmful fumes and those fumes can cause serious issues for your lungs in the long run.

Moreover, many painters also suffer from back pain sooner or later and some of them even have to quit their jobs due to those issues.

Hence, before becoming a painter, make sure that you are willing to put your health at risk.

Sure, not all painters suffer from those issues.

Yet, the risk for health problems increases if you work as a painter compared to many other jobs out there.

You may have to wear a mask

To protect yourself against fumes and dust, you will also have to wear a mask quite often.

While this might not sound that bad, it can still drastically lower the quality of your work life since those masks are rather uncomfortable and can also lead to breathing issues.

Many people also develop headaches when they wear those masks since they simply get insufficient oxygen and if you have to wear those masks the whole day as a painter, chances are that this will not be beneficial for your overall well-being in the long run.

Painters don’t make much money

Another downside to becoming a painter is that you will also not make as much money as dentists and many other highly-qualified people on average.

While some people are able to make a decent living from painting, others even struggle to pay their basic bills.

Especially if you live in an area with high living costs, chances are that you will not be able to afford any luxury as a painter.

Hence, if money is really important to you, chances are that you should go for a different career path instead.

Some painters even need a second job to pay their bills

In extreme cases, you may not even be able to make a living from your painting job.

In fact, some painters even need a second job to survive and this can be pretty annoying and exhausting since you will often have to work long hours and will just not have enough time off to stay mentally and emotionally healthy in the long run.

Rather low social standing as a painter

Painters also don’t have the highest social standing in society.

While doctors and lawyers will be on the top of our social pyramid, you will be on the lower end of the spectrum as a painter.

Sure, people will appreciate your work, but you will simply not have the same social reputation as someone who can save lives.

Consequently, also make sure that you are able to deal with snarky comments in this regard since some people will try to bring you down since you are “just a painter”.

Other people will have it easier in the dating market

Another problem with being a painter is that you will also have a hard time in the dating market.

Since you will neither have high social standing nor make good money, chances are that your selection of potential partners will be rather limited and that you will have to make compromises in this regard while other people who work in fancy jobs will almost have freedom of choice in this regard.

Rather questionable future job prospects

It is also rather unclear how good or bad your future job prospects will be as a painter.

Due to machine learning and artificial intelligence, many jobs in the painting industry may vanish sooner or later and this means that you may also suffer from low job security in the future.

Being a painter implies physical work

You should also not underestimate the physical component that comes along with a career in the painting industry.

As a painter, you will have to do hands-on work all day long and this can be really exhausting.

In fact, when painters come home from work, they really feel what they did the whole day and are often happy to just sit down on the couch and relax for a little bit.

Thus, if you don’t like working in a physical manner, chances are that you should go for a different job.

Teleworking is not possible for painters

You will also not be able to enjoy the benefits that come along with teleworking as a painter.

While many people who work in classical office jobs will be able to work from home and don’t have to commute to the office every day, you will not have this privilege since you will have to be at your clients’ homes in person.

This will take away plenty of flexibility from you and you may also have more problems with managing your private as well as your professional life since you will just be less flexible in general.

Working as a painter may cause problems once you get older

Since working as a painter can be physically demanding, many painters also experience serious problems once they get older.

Some of them suffer from extreme back pain or other health issues and can’t work in this field anymore.

In turn, many of them suffer from financial problems since they still have to pay their bills while they will just have no income anymore at the same time.

Old-age poverty can be an issue

Many painters are also not able to save enough money for retirement.

Since they will often struggle to pay their bills, painters will just not be able to save and invest sufficient money in stocks or retirement funds and many of them will suffer from old-age poverty and the related issues once they quit working.

Painting may become boring in the long run

While working as a painter may be exciting in the beginning, many painters become rather bored with what they are doing in the long run.

Hence, if you are not really passionate about painting, chances are that you should go for a different career path since you may just lose your motivation sooner or later.

Difficult to switch fields as a painter

You should also not underestimate how hard it actually is to switch fields as a painter.

Since you will often be an expert in your field but will not have any knowledge in other fields, chances are that companies who compete in other industries will not be willing to employ you and this means that you may get stuck in the painting industry forever, at least if you are not willing to get many years of additional education.

Top 10 Being a Painter Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become A Painter?

As you can see from the previous discussion, there are many advantages and disadvantages of being a painter.

You should take your time and evaluate all the pros and cons carefully so that you can make a profound decision regarding this important topic.

If you are still interested in a painter career, you should also get detailed information on the salary, job prospects, future outlook, educational requirements, duties, responsibilities and work-life balance of painters.

Also make sure to check out the following articles:

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a nanny

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a carpenter

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a musician

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painting

https://www.statista.com/statistics/319264/number-of-artists-in-the-uk/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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