Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators
Overview
Salary
Demand
Core Tasks
Technology Skills
Tools Used
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Top 10 Skills
Top 10 Abilities
Top 10 Work Activities
Detailed Work Activities
Work Context
Education
Interests
Top 10 Work Styles
Work Values
Related Careers
Overview
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, and tellers.
Laminate layers of fiberglass on molds to form boat decks and hulls, bodies for golf carts, automobiles, or other products.
Salary Salary
Salary at 10th Percentile: $26K
Salary at 25th Percentile: $30K
Median Salary: $36K
Salary at 75th Percentile: $44K
Salary at 90th Percentile: $52K
Demand
Core Tasks
Release air bubbles and smooth seams, using rollers.
Spray chopped fiberglass, resins, and catalysts onto prepared molds or dies using pneumatic spray guns with chopper attachments.
Apply layers of plastic resin to mold surfaces prior to placement of fiberglass mats, repeating layers until products have the desired thicknesses and plastics have jelled.
Mix catalysts into resins, and saturate cloth and mats with mixtures, using brushes.
Check completed products for conformance to specifications and for defects by measuring with rulers or micrometers, by checking them visually, or by tapping them to detect bubbles or dead spots.
Inspect, clean, and assemble molds before beginning work.
Pat or press layers of saturated mat or cloth into place on molds, using brushes or hands, and smooth out wrinkles and air bubbles with hands or squeegees.
Select precut fiberglass mats, cloth, and wood-bracing materials as required by projects being assembled.
Cure materials by letting them set at room temperature, placing them under heat lamps, or baking them in ovens.
Apply lacquers and waxes to mold surfaces to facilitate assembly and removal of laminated parts.
Bond wood reinforcing strips to decks and cabin structures of watercraft, using resin-saturated fiberglass.
Mask off mold areas not to be laminated, using cellophane, wax paper, masking tape, or special sprays containing mold-release substances.
Repair or modify damaged or defective glass-fiber parts, checking thicknesses, densities, and contours to ensure a close fit after repair.
Check all dies, templates, and cutout patterns to be used in the manufacturing process to ensure that they conform to dimensional data, photographs, blueprints, samples, or customer specifications.
Trim excess materials from molds, using hand shears or trimming knives.
Trim cured materials by sawing them with diamond-impregnated cutoff wheels.
Technology Skills
Technology
Example
Hot Technology
Tools Used
Tool
Example
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Administration and Management
78%
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Production and Processing
77%
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Education and Training
72%
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Chemistry
67%
Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
English Language
64%
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Customer and Personal Service
61%
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction
60%
Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Clerical
60%
Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Design
59%
Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mechanical
59%
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Top 10 Skills
Monitoring
63%
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Operations Monitoring
63%
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Active Listening
60%
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.
Complex Problem Solving
60%
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Reading Comprehension
60%
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking
60%
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Learning
58%
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Coordination
58%
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking
58%
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing
58%
Teaching others how to do something.
Top 10 Abilities
Arm-Hand Steadiness
73%
The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Multilimb Coordination
73%
The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Near Vision
73%
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity
73%
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Trunk Strength
73%
The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.
Extent Flexibility
65%
The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Information Ordering
65%
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Oral Comprehension
65%
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Visualization
65%
The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Control Precision
63%
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Top 10 Work Activities
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material
83%
Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Getting Information
82%
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
78%
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
75%
Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
74%
Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
73%
Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Controlling Machines and Processes
73%
Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Handling and Moving Objects
73%
Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People
73%
Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Performing General Physical Activities
73%
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Detailed Work Activities
Smooth surfaces of objects or equipment.
Place materials into molds.
Mix substances to create chemical solutions.
Apply water or solutions to fabrics or apparel.
Measure dimensions of completed products or workpieces to verify conformance to specifications.
Select production input materials.
Apply adhesives to construction materials.
Trim excess material from workpieces.
Apply parting agents or other solutions to molds.
Inspect production equipment.
Clean production equipment.
Build production molds.
Load items into ovens or furnaces.
Repair parts or assemblies.
Work Context
Spend Time Standing
How much does this job require standing?
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets?
Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection
How much does this job require wearing specialized protective or safety equipment such as breathing apparatus, safety harness, full protection suits, or radiation protection?
Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable
How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?
Face-to-Face Discussions
How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Exposed to Contaminants
How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)?
Time Pressure
How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled
How often does this job require working indoors in non-controlled environmental conditions (e.g., warehouse without heat)?
Physical Proximity
To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?
Education
Interests
Realistic
100%
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional
77%
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Investigative
53%
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Artistic
29%
Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Enterprising
19%
Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Social
15%
Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Top 10 Work Styles
Attention to Detail
92%
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability
89%
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Cooperation
83%
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Self Control
82%
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Independence
79%
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Initiative
79%
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Achievement/Effort
77%
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Integrity
77%
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Stress Tolerance
77%
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Persistence
76%
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Work Values
Support
67%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Relationships
62%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Achievement
39%
Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions
39%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Independence
34%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Recognition
34%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
