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Working for a commercial painting company like Cochran & Mann is an exciting career path. Projects range from the aerospace and military industries to automobiles and collegiate athletic centers.

Aside from cool work, you have a hands-on skill, a family-like atmosphere, and the opportunity to advance from apprentice to president with hard work and passion for the trade. Take a peek at Cochran & Mann’s list of typical roles in a painting company to see where you fit in or where you’d like to go:

President. The president of a painting company is a leadership position and is responsible for overseeing company finance, strategy, and more. As the face of the company, the president also leads a team of coatings and finish trade professionals and communicates with clients throughout every project.

Executive Vice President. The executive vice president of a commercial painting company is another leadership position and is responsible for acting as the company spokesperson, operations manager, program manager, and head of budgeting.

Project Manager. Project managers in the painting industry are largely responsible for managing the paint and wallcovering functions of contracts, product submittals, project scheduling, customer relations, staffing, and resource allocations while maintaining a high level of quality. Project managers (and estimators and painters) must be able to read blueprints. 

Estimator. This advanced job requires leading a strong sales team and working through complex estimates and budgets to convert these into winning bids for the commercial painting company. Estimators develop long-lasting relationships with industry professionals to build a foundation of credibility and trust with other subcontractors and clients.  

Other duties include full-charge construction document review, survey take-offs, and pricing. Estimators also must understand manufacturers' various coating systems, as well as interpret building codes and specifications.

Commercial Painter. Typical responsibilities of a commercial painter include performing general paint preparation functions, such as covering, sanding, grinding, polishing, masking, and priming.

Commercial painters usually operate a roller, hand brush, or spray gun; repair and install wallcovering; visually inspect parts after painting to look for defects in color matching or paint runs; and log quality management errors.

Experience for this position is based on the commercial painting company. Some painters must understand painting techniques like dry-abrasive blasting or spray-painting steel while others need to have experience in both interior and exterior painting.

However, all painters (and finishing specialists) must perform projects in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and ordinances, as well as department and/or company policies, practices, and procedures.

They also must have updated certifications. Check out our blog, The Top 6 Best Commercial Painting Certifications, for more information.

Finishing Specialist. A finishing specialist is a type of specialty painter. They’re one of the final team members to work on a project.

Finishing specialists perform finish-coat painting, spraying, or brush touch-ups on commercial projects. This on-the-ground team member ensures proper surface preparation and masking and mixes epoxies and solvents to appropriate ratios by weight, volume or viscosity.

Apprentice. An apprentice learns the trade from an experienced, skilled painting professional. The purpose of this starter job is to improve existing skills and learn new painting techniques in order to launch a successful paint career.

Under the supervision of an commercial or lead painter, the apprentice paints, cleans the work area and equipment, and performs other supporting duties. 

Remember that the transition from apprentice to president doesn’t happen overnight (or even in a few years)! However, the opportunity is always available to hardworking, dedicated painting professionals who love the trade.

If you’d like a chance to grow in the painting industry, click on the button below to apply to Cochran & Mann in Frederick, Maryland: