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Boston Career Explorer

Production

Furniture Finishers

Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.

Also called: Finish Repair Worker, Finisher, Furniture Finisher, Hand Sander, Lacquer Sprayer, Sander

Median pay in Greater Boston
$56,300
$27.07/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
160
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+43.1%
50 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$44,670$51,990$56,300$60,130$67,720

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws.
  • Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grinders.
  • Remove accessories prior to finishing, and mask areas that should not be exposed to finishing processes or substances.
  • Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or dip baths.
  • Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure12 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 10
  • Language-model AIOE 10
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 17

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is lower, and AI tools are barely used in it today. The core work is hands-on: stripping, sanding, filling, staining, and spraying wood by eye and by feel. AI tools might help a little with side tasks like quotes and paperwork, but they do not do the finishing itself.

Likely to change

  • Writing job quotes and estimates
  • Scheduling and ordering supplies

Still relies on people

  • Hand-sanding and repairing damaged wood
  • Judging color, grain, and finish by eye

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

    Smoothing, repairing, and checking the fit of wood pieces carry over, and the median pay is a bit higher at $59,120.

    Pay difference
    +$2,820 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +1.2%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Painters, Construction and Maintenance

    Masking, surface prep, and applying coatings carry over to this job, which has no formal education requirement and a median pay of $57,820.

    Pay difference
    +$1,520 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +5.5%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Carpenters

    Your skill with wood, hand tools, and sanders carries over. Carpenters train through an apprenticeship and have a median pay of $75,210.

    Pay difference
    +$18,910 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +6.3%
    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

2 programs near Boston

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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