Glazier and Glass Artist
Impact: Preserving the heritage stained glass of churches and historic buildings, and creating new architectural glass art that enriches the built environment
Cut, fit, and install glass in windows, doors, and architectural features, and create decorative stained glass, fused glass, and glass art for residential, commercial, and heritage clients. Cut and fit float glass; install double glazing units; create and install stained glass panels; design and make fused glass art; and restore historic stained glass windows. Develop expertise in a specific glass domain such as heritage stained glass restoration, architectural glass, or contemporary fused glass art.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 30% Team / 70% Solo
- Client facing
- Sometimes
- Impact visibility
- Very High
- Travel
- 20-40% travel to sites
- Schedule flexibility
- Moderate
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 38-50 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $40,000
- Entry-level
- $22,000 - $32,000
- Senior
- $70,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 4% (heritage building restoration and architectural glass growing)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- High
- Salary growth potential
- High -- 80-200% growth from apprentice to glass artist with gallery representation
- Typical student debt
- $0 - $15,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Glass cutting and fitting
- Double glazing unit installation
- Stained glass design and fabrication
- Lead came work
- Fused glass kiln work
- Heritage stained glass restoration
Soft skills
- Attention to detail
- Craftsmanship
- Creativity
- Technical aptitude
- Physical fitness
Technical complexity: High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Certificate or Vocational Training
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 7-15 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
- Carpenter and Joiner
- Fine Artist
Where you can go from here
- Heritage Glass Restorer
- Architectural Glass Artist
Typical progression
- Glazier Apprentice
- Glazier
- Glass Artist
- Heritage Glass Restorer
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 10% -- glass cutting and fitting automation is growing; artistic glass work remains human
- AI disruption risk
- Very Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 8/10
- Meaning
- 8.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 7.5/10
- Prestige
- 7/10
- Social perception
- Moderate