| Important Core Job Duties (in order of importance) For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 96 (%) | Description: Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers. |
| Importance: 86 (%) | Description: Examine furniture to determine the extent of damage or deterioration, and to decide on the best method for repair or restoration. |
| Importance: 85 (%) | Description: Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or dip baths. |
| Importance: 82 (%) | Description: Remove accessories prior to finishing, and mask areas that should not be exposed to finishing processes or substances. |
| Importance: 82 (%) | Description: Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grinders. |
| Importance: 80 (%) | Description: Distress surfaces with woodworking tools or abrasives before staining to create an antique appearance, or rub surfaces to bring out highlights and shadings. |
| Importance: 80 (%) | Description: Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness and surface type. |
| Importance: 79 (%) | Description: Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws. |
| Importance: 77 (%) | Description: Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors. |
| Importance: 77 (%) | Description: Mix finish ingredients to obtain desired colors or shades. |
| Importance: 73 (%) | Description: Remove excess solvent, using cloths soaked in paint thinner. |
| Importance: 70 (%) | Description: Stencil, gild, emboss, mark, or paint designs or borders to reproduce the original appearance of restored pieces, or to decorate new pieces. |
| Importance: 68 (%) | Description: Disassemble items to prepare them for finishing, using hand tools. |
Music Careers and Jobs
Select, Find and Prepare for Music Careers and Jobs - all on one page
For musicians who want to understand the realistic mix of performance, teaching, and production income paths. Use the tools below to see which music roles fit your background and goals.
Music careers combine performance, teaching, production, and business, and rarely follow a single linear job-title path. Use the tools below to explore Music-related job titles sorted by growth rate, salary, or required education. You can start with entry points like Session Musician, or look ahead to advanced roles such as Music Director or Recording Producer. Along the way, you will see specific certifications, such as Suzuki or similar teaching certification (for instruction track), that can help you move up the career ladder.
Here is a short Helper Video 
This page will take you through 4 steps to (1) Select from Music careers/jobs, (2) Find Music job listings, (3) Prepare for Music careers, and (4) Provide Music career-specific resources.
Step 1: Select a Career/Job: This page starts with 4 ways for you to identify and select from listings of Music careers/jobs:
A) Fastest Growing Music Careers - 2023 to 2033 (est.)
These listings are based on job growth estimates and helps you to identify the fastest growing and evolving Music careers. Some careers may not initially seem related to Music, so relevant Music jobs are listed alongside each listing. This can also help us to identify which careers (bottom of the listing) may have negative growth - perhaps due to automation or planned obsolescence.
B) Median Annual Salary U.S. Music Careers
These listings are sorted (descending) by median annual salary in the U.S. This may help us to identify our ideal career. We may not qualify at this time for the desired career, but this listing and the results provided can help us to explore job details, as well as learn how to appropriately prepare for the career.
C) Music Career Ladders (Educational Requirements)
These listings will help us to identify Music careers sorted by educational requirements (with the most difficult to obtain listed first). This may help us to identify career ladders (as we scroll down the list), and help us to get jobs that we qualify for now.
D) Select From a Listing of 131 Music Jobs.
The list may be quite long. There are two ways you might like to use this list:
1) Filter - As you enter a word, you will filter (limit) the list of job titles
2) Browse the list (Don't Filter) - You can simply explore the list of job titles. There may be many that you might never have considered to be of interest.
Once you have identified a job title of interest, simply click on it.
Step 2: Find a Job: After you have selected a career/job title above, you will see a form asking for your location. You will see several radio selection choices to utilize the job search site of your choice.
Step 3: Prepare For a Career: In this section you will gain access to detailed information to help you prepare for the chosen career. Information may include (not every career choice includes all of the elements below - updates occur quarterly):
Core Duties: Lists the primary worker-related tasks performed in this occupation
Supplemental Duties: Lists additional tasks that are performed but are secondary to the core duties
Work Activities: Summarizes the broad types of behaviors and actions related to this career
Specific Work Activities: Provides more granular day-to-day activities tied to the work performed
Essential Skills: Provides foundational skills that are core to performing this specific occupation
Transferable Skills: Provides career-portable skills that can be applied across multiple occupations and industries
Day-in-the-Life Summaries: Provides a snapshot of the key activities performed on a typical workday in this career
Knowledge Required: Provides the requirements regarding the acquisition of facts and principles
Software Skills: Lists software tools commonly used in this occupation, organized by category and priority
Preparation Required: Provides a summary of the required experience and education
Education Required: Detailed breakdown of the education required
Training and Experience Required: Detailed breakdown of the training and Training and Experience Required
Local Salary Information: Provides national and local salary ranges
Certifications: Provides appropriate government and private-sector certifications and/or credentials that may be required
Professional Associations: Provides professional associations that are related to the career selected
Job Listings: Provides links to active current job listings for the selected career, along with multiple similar job titles to explore. All information appears on this page without navigating away.
Related Careers to Consider: Lists up to 20 careers that might be of interest to you (related to your initial choice - what they do, what they know, and what they're called), ranked by best fit.
** If you clicked on a link from section D (as described in Step 1 above), you will see one or more links to an occupation that is usually a bit more general than your initial job selection - the link(s) is directly related to the specific job you identified through your prior selections.
*NOTE: It is possible that there may not be a career path identified for the specific job you selected in Step 1. If this is the case, scroll up the page and click on a different career/job.
Step 4: Career-Specific Resources (detailed and constantly updated): Continue to scroll down the page and you will find tabs that provide detailed (updated) links specific to the career you selected. This information includes:
Videos: Provides a listing of video links related to this career. A great way to get a quick overview of the occupation.
Resumes: Sources for resume materials and techniques. This can help to get you started.
Job Description: Sources that provide job descriptions, which are vital to resume and interview preparation.
Interviews: Provides links that can help you to prepare for and successfully complete the job interview. Can also assist with coffee chats.
Step by Step: Provides links to resources that can help to organize the career search process.
LinkedIn: One of the best professional social media sites that provides links, opportunities, and networking specifically for careers and career development.
Step 1 of 4: Select a Career/Job
35 Music careers are listed below (sorted by Percentage Change in Total Job Openings - 2023 to 2033 est.). Music-related jobs specific to each career are also provided. This shows which careers are emerging and growing the fastest. Please Scroll and Select below:
| Occupations | U.S. Job Openings 2023-2033 (% change) | Music-Related Jobs |
37 Music careers are listed below (sorted by U.S. National Median Salary). Music-related jobs specific to each occupation are also provided. Please Scroll and Select below::
| Occupations | National Median Salary | Music-Related Jobs |
37 Music careers are listed (sorted by Education/Preparation Requirements - descending) to provide career ladders. Music-related jobs specific to each career are also provided.
|
Education/Preparation Categories: 5 = Usually requires graduate school (e.g., Master's degree, Ph.D., M.D., or J.D.) 4 = Usually requires a four-year Bachelor's degree 3 = Usually requires vocational training, related on-the-job experience, or Associate's degree 2 = Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, but not always Please Scroll and Select below: |
||
| Occupations | Education/Preparation | Music-Related Jobs |
Scroll through the picklist (below). There are 131 specific Music job titles listed. Select those that may be of interest - you will get active job listing links, along with detailed resources to help you prepare for a career related to that job.
You can use this form two ways:
Filter - As you enter a keyword, you will filter (limit) the list of job titles below
Browse the list (Don't Filter) - You can simply explore the list of job titles. There may be many that you might never have considered to be of interest.
OR - leave blank and scroll through the choices:
Select a Job Title (Scroll and Select) :
Step 2 of 4: Find a Job
Find Job Listings:
Furniture Finishers.
Step 3 of 4: Prepare For a Career
Furniture Finishers
Description: Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.
Please click on a section below to expand and see detailed occupational information related to "Furniture Finishers":
U.S. Total Employment (2023):
18,100U.S. Total Employment (2033 est.):
19,100
Employment Change (2023-2033 est.):
1,000 (5.8%) Average Annual Job Openings (2023-2033 est.):
2,600
Core Duties
Supplemental Duties
| Important Supplemental Job Duties (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 59 (%) | Description: Wash surfaces to prepare them for finish application. |
| Importance: 50 (%) | Description: Recommend woods, colors, finishes, and furniture styles, using knowledge of wood products, fashions, and styles. |
| Importance: 49 (%) | Description: Follow blueprints to produce specific designs. |
| Importance: 49 (%) | Description: Confer with customers to determine furniture colors or finishes. |
| Importance: 46 (%) | Description: Brush bleaching agents on wood surfaces to restore natural color. |
| Importance: 45 (%) | Description: Paint metal surfaces electrostatically, or by using a spray gun or other painting equipment. |
| Importance: 44 (%) | Description: Replace or refurbish upholstery of items, using tacks, adhesives, softeners, solvents, stains, or polish. |
| Importance: 43 (%) | Description: Design, create, and decorate entire pieces or specific parts of furniture, such as draws for cabinets. |
| Importance: 39 (%) | Description: Spread graining ink over metal portions of furniture to simulate wood-grain finish. |
Work Activities
| Important General Work Activities (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 82 (%) | Description: Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Importance: 80 (%) | Description: Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Importance: 78 (%) | Description: Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials: Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects. |
| Importance: 76 (%) | Description: Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Performing General Physical Activities: Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials. |
| Importance: 74 (%) | Description: Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems. |
| Importance: 73 (%) | Description: Thinking Creatively: Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
| Importance: 73 (%) | Description: Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Importance: 73 (%) | Description: Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Importance: 73 (%) | Description: Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People: Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. |
| Importance: 72 (%) | Description: Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards: Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards. |
| Importance: 71 (%) | Description: Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Importance: 70 (%) | Description: Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Importance: 65 (%) | Description: Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information: Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity. |
| Importance: 63 (%) | Description: Training and Teaching Others: Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. |
| Importance: 63 (%) | Description: Processing Information: Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. |
| Importance: 60 (%) | Description: Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others: Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks. |
Specific Work Activities
| Important Specific Work Activities
How can you begin to build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. Specific Work Activities appear below: |
|
| Advise others on ways to improve processes or products. | |
| Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products. | |
| Clean workpieces or finished products. | |
| Confer with customers or designers to determine order specifications. | |
| Design furniture. | |
| Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair. | |
| Examine condition of property or products. | |
| Fill cracks, imperfections, or holes in products or workpieces. | |
| Mix ingredients to create specific finishes. | |
| Operate grinding equipment. | |
| Operate painting or coating equipment. | |
| Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements. | |
| Remove accessories, tools, or other parts from equipment. | |
| Repair furniture or upholstery. | |
| Select production input materials. | |
| Shape surfaces or edges of wood workpieces. | |
Knowledge Required
| Knowledge Required (in order of importance)
For the Top 5 most important - How can you build experience and skill doing these? This will help now, to begin preparing for this type of occupation. |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 64 (%) | Description: Production and Processing: Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. |
| Importance: 59 (%) | Description: Mechanical: Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance. |
Essential Skills
| Essential Skills (in order of importance)
These are the foundational skills most central to success in this occupation. For the Top 5 most important, how can you begin building experience and confidence using these skills now? |
|
| Importance (%) | Description |
| Importance: 52 (%) | Description: Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Importance: 52 (%) | Description: Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems. |
| Importance: 52 (%) | Description: Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. |
Day-in-the-Life Summaries
| Day-in-the-Life Summaries These summaries show the main types of activities you are likely to perform on a regular basis in this occupation. How can you imagine your typical workday — using these examples to see if this type of work fits you? |
| Activity: Advise others on business or operational matters. |
| Activity: Apply materials to fill gaps or imperfections. |
| Activity: Apply protective solutions or coatings. |
| Activity: Clean workpieces, finished products, or other objects. |
| Activity: Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications. |
| Activity: Design structures or facilities. |
| Activity: Disassemble equipment. |
| Activity: Inspect characteristics or conditions of materials or products. |
| Activity: Operate cutting or grinding equipment. |
| Activity: Operate industrial processing or production equipment. |
| Activity: Prepare mixtures or solutions. |
| Activity: Read documents or materials to inform work processes. |
| Activity: Repair workpieces or products. |
| Activity: Select materials or equipment for operations or projects. |
| Activity: Shape materials to create products. |
Software Skills
|
Software Skills These are examples of software tools commonly used in this occupation, organized from most to least important for your career preparation. How can you start learning or practicing the highest-priority tools so that you feel confident using them on the job? |
| Emerging Tech Skills |
| Accounting software: |
| Intuit QuickBooks |
| Office suite software: |
| Microsoft Office software |
| General Software Tools |
| Data base user interface and query software: |
| DuPont ColorNet DuPont Spies Hecker Wizard |
| Internet browser software: |
| Web browser software |
Preparation Required
| Preparation Required - How much preparation is needed to obtain this type of job? |
| Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed |
| Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training. |
| Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. |
| Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training. |
| These occupations involve following instructions and often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include dishwashers, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, counter and rental clerks, dental laboratory technicians, and security guards. |
Education Required
| Education Required - by frequency of educational attainment This shows you details about the level of education most commonly held by workers in this occupation. How can you begin planning the educational pathway that will prepare you best for this type of work? |
|
| Frequency of Attainment (%) | Level of Education |
| Frequency of Attainment: 61.2 (%) | Level of Education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) |
| Frequency of Attainment: 35.5 (%) | Level of Education: Less than a High School Diploma |
| Frequency of Attainment: 3.3 (%) | Level of Education: Post-Secondary Certificate |
Training and Experience Required
| Training and Experience Required - by frequency of training and work experience attainment This section shows you how often different types of training and work experience are required for this occupation. How can you start gaining the kinds of experience and training that are most common for this type of work? |
|
| Frequency of Attainment (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience |
| Frequency of Attainment: 24.0 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: None |
| Frequency of Attainment: 21.3 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 9.4 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 9.1 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year |
| Frequency of Attainment: 9.0 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months |
| Frequency of Attainment: 8.6 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 8 years, up to and including 10 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 7.8 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 6 years, up to and including 8 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 6.9 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 10 years |
| Frequency of Attainment: 2.6 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months |
| Frequency of Attainment: 1.3 (%) | Level of Training and Work Experience: Up to and including 1 month |
Local Salary Information
Select a State (scroll and Select) :
Please select a State to see State and National Salaries
Professional Associations
| Professional Associations These associations connect people who work in this occupation or related fields. How can you start using these associations to learn more, build your network, or find mentoring opportunities? |
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The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association (BIFMA)
| |
Job Listings
| Job Listings and Similar Occupational Titles - scroll and click to identify common requirements, keywords, and skills in current job listings |
Related Careers to Consider
Step 4 of 4: Career-Specific Resources
This section contains detailed external resources appropriate to "Furniture Finishers". Explore these resources to start learning more. Links are constantly updated, so bookmark this page.
Videos
Here is a listing of videos related to this career. A great way to get a quick overview of the occupation.
Resumes
Here are resources that allow you to see example resumes for this occupation. It may be helpful to see examples from others who have this type of experience.
Job Description
Here are resources that provide job descriptions, which are vital for resume and interview preparation.
Interviews
There are many great resources that can help guide you through the interview process. These links provide help in preparing and performing an effective interview, specific to this occupation.
Step-by-Step
Here are links to help guide you, step-by-step, to become a(n): Furniture Finishers
LinkedIn®
Here are links to various posts and groups from LinkedIn ® that relate to this occupation. Great way to start building professional contacts in the field that might be most appropriate for you.
Developed by Dr. Ralph Jagodka, Ed.D., Professor Emeritus of Business Management at Mt. San Antonio College and author of the Harvard Business Impact article "What to Do When Students Ask You for Career Advice." - Full bio. © 2026 About This Page
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