Appendix B: Explanation of Specific Occupations
License to Work
Several occupations warrant greater explanation than space in the Occupation Profiles permits. Following below are further details of these occupations and how they were observed.
Contractor Occupations – Commercial and Residential
Contractor licensing schemes vary from state to state. Some states issue different licenses for work performed in commercial and residential settings, while other states require the same license regardless of setting. (Such non-specific licenses are sometimes called general contractor licenses.) In addition, states usually set a minimum contract size (often expressed in dollars of revenue) that contracted jobs must meet before the contractor license is required, and these minimums vary by state.
Table B1 shows state regulation of settings (commercial, residential or both) for contractor licensing. It also lists the titles or types of licenses observed, as well as any minimum contract sizes (in dollars).
Table B1 covers licenses for all of the contractor occupations observed in this report, except for those related to HVAC systems (see Table B2), with an important caveat: It only covers the specific contractor occupations licensed by each state. For example, terrazzo contractors are not licensed by New Mexico, while other types of contractors, such as masonry and insulation, are. The State Profiles indicate which contractor occupations are licensed by each state.
In Table B1, a “specialty classification” is a state-specified contractor license category that covers the type of work the contractor will perform. In this report, it varies by contractor occupation because the type of work varies. For example, in California, a glazier contractor needs a “C-17 – Glazing Contractor” specialty classification, while a drywall contractor needs a “C-9 – Drywall Contractor” specialty classification.
Landscape contractors often face special requirements in addition to or instead of those listed in Table B1. In addition to any contractor licenses listed in the table, landscape contractors in 14 states also need one of the following types of nursery or landscaping-related licenses in both commercial and residential settings, unless otherwise noted:
- Horticulturist license: Louisiana (commercial only) and Mississippi (commercial only).
- Landscape contractor license: Arkansas and Idaho.
- Landscaper license: Tennessee.
- Nursery license: North Dakota.
- Nursery outlet license: Utah.
- Nursery/plant dealer license: Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Washington and West Virginia.
- Setting of landscape plants and turf/pest control licenses: Alabama (commercial only).
In 28 states, instead of any contractor licenses listed in Table B1, landscape contractors need one of the following nursery or landscaping-related licenses in both commercial and residential settings, unless otherwise noted:
- Horticulturist license: Louisiana (residential only) and Mississippi (residential only).
- Landscape contractor business and landscape construction professional licenses: Oregon.
- Nursery license: Colorado and Delaware.
- Nursery-floral license: Texas.
- Nursery dealer license: Missouri.
- Nursery landscaper license: Oklahoma.
- Nursery/plant dealer license: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
- Setting of landscape plants and turf/pest control licenses: Alabama (residential only).
Licenses for the HVAC contractor and HVAC sheet metal contractor occupations are excluded from Table B1 because many of them are completely different licenses issued by different boards and subject to different contract size minimums.
Table B2 shows state regulation of settings (commercial, residential or both) for the HVAC contractor and HVAC sheet metal contractor occupations. The table also lists the titles of licenses observed, as well as any minimum contract sizes (in dollars).
Table B1: Contractor Licensing (Excluding HVAC and HVAC Sheet Metal)
| State | Setting | Title or Type of License(s) | Min. Contract Size ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Commercial | Prime contractor – specialty classification* | $50,000 |
| Alabama | Residential | Residential home builder | $10,000 |
| Alaska | Both | Construction contractor – specialty classification* | $10,000 |
| Arizona | Commercial | Contractor – specialty classification* | $1,000 |
| Arizona | Residential | Contractor – specialty classification* | $1,000 |
| Arkansas | Commercial | Contractor – specialty classification* | $50,000 |
| Arkansas | Residential | Home improvement contractor – specialty classification* | $2,000 |
| California | Both | Contractor – specialty classification* | $500 |
| Connecticut** | Commercial | Major contractor | None |
| Connecticut** | Residential | Home improvement contractor | $200 |
| District of Columbia | Commercial | Class E contractor* | None |
| District of Columbia | Residential | Home improvement contractor and salesperson licenses* | $300 |
| Florida | Both | Certified contractor – specialty classification | $1,000 |
| Georgia*** | Both | Utility contractor, manager and foreman licenses | None |
| Hawaii | Both | Contractor – specialty classification* | $1,000 |
| Idaho | Both | Contractor registration* | $2,000 |
| Iowa | Both | Construction contractor registration* | None |
| Louisiana**** | Commercial | Contractor – specialty classification* | $50,000 |
| Louisiana**** | Residential | Home improvement contractor | $7,500 |
| Maryland | Residential | Home improvement contractor* | None |
| Massachusetts***** | Residential | Home improvement contractor and construction supervisor licenses* | $500 |
| Michigan | Residential | Maintenance and alteration contractor – specialty classification | $600 |
| Mississippi | Commercial | Contractor – specialty classification* | $50,000 |
| Mississippi | Residential | Residential remodeler | $10,000 |
| Nebraska | Both | Contractor registration* | None |
| Nevada | Both | Contractor – specialty classification* | $1,000 |
| New Jersey | Residential | Home improvement contractor* | None |
| New Mexico | Both | General construction contractor – specialty classification | $7,200 |
| North Carolina | Both | General contractor – specialty classification* | $30,000 |
| North Dakota | Both | General contractor – class D* | $4,000 |
| Oregon | Commercial | Commercial specialty contractor – level 2 | $1,000 |
| Oregon | Residential | Residential specialty contractor | $1,000 |
| Pennsylvania | Residential | Home improvement contractor | $500 |
| Rhode Island | Both | Contractor registration | None |
| South Carolina | Commercial | Contractor – specialty classification | $5,000 |
| South Carolina | Residential | Residential contractor – specialty classification | $200 |
| Tennessee | Both | General contractor – specialty classification* | $25,000 |
| Utah | Both | Contractor – specialty classification* | $3,000 |
| Virginia | Both | Class C contractor – specialty classification* | $1,000 |
| Washington | Both | Contractor – specialty classification* | $500 |
| West Virginia | Both | Contractor – specialty classification* | $2,500 |
| Wisconsin*** | Both | Utility contractor registration | None |
*License applies to landscape contractors.
**In lieu of the major contractor license, commercial glazier contractors in Connecticut require specialized flat glass contractor and journeyperson licenses. The contractor license applies for jobs involving panes of glass of 30 square feet or larger.
***These states’ licenses are required only for the pipelayer contractor occupation. Otherwise, with the exception of Connecticut, all of the licenses in the table that apply in commercial or both settings are required for that occupation.
****In addition to the contractor’s license, commercial door repair contractors in Louisiana require a door hardware certificate from the state fire marshal.
*****In Massachusetts, residential cement finishing, insulation and painting contractors require only the home improvement contractor license. Also, the home improvement and construction supervisor licenses do not apply to residential non-HVAC sheet metal contractors. Instead, these contractors must have the following two licenses, regardless of setting: unlimited sheet metal journeyperson and apprentice. There is no minimum contract size.
Table B2: HVAC and HVAC Sheet Metal Contractor Licensing
| State | Setting | Title of HVAC Contractor License(s) | Title of HVAC Sheet Metal Contractor License(s) | Min. Contract Size ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Commercial | HVAC contractor certification and mechanical contractor license – HVAC subclassification | (Same) | Certification: None; License: $50,000 |
| Alaska | Commercial | Mechanical administrator – unlimited HVAC/sheet metal category | (Same) | None |
| Alaska | Residential | Mechanical administrator – residential HVAC category | (Same) | None |
| Arizona | Commercial | Comfort heating, ventilating, evaporative cooling specialty commercial contractor | (Same) | $1,000 |
| Arizona | Residential | Comfort heating, ventilating, evaporative cooling specialty dual contractor | (Same) | $1,000 |
| Arkansas | Commercial | HVACR specialty building contractor and HVACR class A trade licenses | Duct sheet metal specialty building contractor and HVACR class D trade licenses | $50,000 |
| Arkansas | Residential | HVACR class B trade | HVACR class D trade | None |
| California | Both | Warm-air heating, ventilating and air-conditioning contractor | Sheet metal contractor | $500 |
| Connecticut | Both | Limited air conditioning, refrigeration and warm air contractor and journeyperson licenses | Limited sheet metal contractor and journeyperson licenses (commercial); Limited residential/light commercial sheet metal contractor and journeyperson licenses (residential) | None |
| District of Columbia | Both | Refrigeration and air conditioning contractor and limited master mechanic licenses | (Same) | None |
| Delaware | Both | Master HVACR | (Same) | None |
| Florida | Both | Mechanical contractor certification | Sheet metal contractor certification | $1,000 |
| Georgia | Commercial | Conditioned air contractor, class II | (Same) | None |
| Georgia | Residential | Conditioned air contractor, class I | (Same) | None |
| Hawaii | Both | Ventilating and air conditioning specialty contractor | Sheet metal specialty contractor | $1,000 |
| Idaho | Both | HVAC contractor, journeyman and apprentice licenses | (Same) | None |
| Iowa | Both | HVAC/R contractor, master, journeyman and apprentice licenses as well as construction contractor registration | (Same) | None |
| Kentucky | Both | Master HVAC contractor, journeyman mechanic and apprentice licenses | (Same) | None |
| Louisiana | Both | Mechanical contractor – HVAC, duct work and refrigeration specialty | Sheet metal duct work specialty contractor (commercial); Home improvement contractor (residential) | HVAC: $10,000; HVAC Sheet Metal: $50,000 (commercial), $7,500 (residential) |
| Maryland | Both | Master HVACR contractor, journeyman and apprentice licenses | (Same) | None |
| Massachusetts | Commercial | Refrigeration contractor, technician and apprentice licenses | Unlimited sheet metal journeyperson and apprentice licenses (commercial); Limited sheet metal journeyperson and apprentice licenses (residential) | None |
| Michigan | Both | Mechanical contractor – HVAC equipment specialty | Mechanical contractor – ductwork specialty | None |
| Mississippi | Commercial | HVAC contractor | (Same) | $50,000 |
| Mississippi | Residential | Residential remodeler | (Same) | $10,000 |
| Nebraska | Both | Contractor registration | (Same) | None |
| Nevada | Both | Heating, cooling and circulating air specialty contractor | Using sheet metal specialty contractor | HVAC: None; HVAC Sheet Metal: $1,000 |
| New Jersey | Both | Master HVACR contractor, journeyperson and apprentice licenses | (Same) | None |
| New Mexico | Both | Mechanical contractor – HVAC specialty classification | Mechanical contractor – HVAC specialty classification and journeyman sheet metal licenses | $7,200 |
| North Carolina | Commercial | Heating – group 3, class I | (Same) | None |
| North Carolina | Residential | Heating – group 3, class II | (Same) | None |
| North Dakota | Both | General contractor – class D | (Same) | $4,000 |
| Ohio | Commercial | HVAC contractor | (Same) | None |
| Oklahoma | Both | HVAC/R mechanical contractor and apprentice licenses | Sheet metal mechanical contractor and apprentice licenses | None |
| Oregon | Commercial | Commercial specialty contractor – level 2 | (Same) | $1,000 |
| Oregon | Residential | Residential specialty contractor | (Same) | $1,000 |
| Pennsylvania | Residential | Home improvement contractor | (Same) | $500 |
| Rhode Island | Both | Class II pipefitter/refrigeration master, journeyperson and apprentice licenses | Class I sheet metal master, journeyperson and apprentice licenses (commercial); Class II sheet metal master, journeyperson and apprentice licenses (residential) | None |
| South Carolina | Commercial | Mechanical contractor – air conditioning and heating specialties | Mechanical contractor – packaged equipment specialty | $5,000 |
| South Carolina | Residential | Residential contractor – heating and air specialty | (Same) | $200 |
| Tennessee | Both | Mechanical contractor – HVAC, refrigeration and gas piping specialty | (Same) | $25,000 |
| Texas | Commercial | Class A environmental air conditioning contractor and ACR technician licenses | (Same) | None |
| Texas | Residential | Class B environmental air conditioning contractor and ACR technician licenses | (Same) | None |
| Utah | Both | HVAC specialty contractor | Sheet metal specialty contractor | HVAC: None; HVAC Sheet Metal: $3,000 |
| Virginia | Both | Class C contractor – HVAC specialty and HVAC master and journeyman tradesmen licenses | (Same) | $1,000 |
| Washington | Both | HVAC/R specialty contractor | (Same) | $500 |
| West Virginia | Both | HVAC specialty contractor | Contractor | $2,500 |
| Wisconsin | Both | HVAC contractor credentials | (Same) | None |
Emergency Medical Technician
Often, states only set topics that must be covered in education requirements for emergency medical technician licenses. In such cases, education length had to be found by randomly sampling state-approved private providers or, if the state aligns its education requirements with such, national standards.
Makeup Artist
Two states (Louisiana and Nevada) issue a license specific to makeup artists. However, in 39 other states, makeup application is interpreted as falling under the scope of other licenses administered by cosmetology boards. While some of the 39 states exempt from licensure makeup application performed in certain settings (e.g., theatrical productions, television or retail demonstrations), this report considers the broad occupation of makeup artist to be licensed in all of those states.
To give a better understanding of which licenses are observed in each state for the makeup artist occupation, the type of license (cosmetician, esthetician/aesthetician, facials specialist, makeup artist or skin care specialist) and the state(s) that observe that license type are listed in Table B3 below.
Table B3: Makeup Artist Licensing
| Type of License | State(s) |
|---|---|
| Cosmetician | Nebraska and Oklahoma |
| Esthetician/Aesthetician | Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin |
| Facials Specialist | Florida |
| Makeup Artist | Louisiana and Nevada |
| Skin Care Specialist | New Jersey |
Milk Sampler
In four states (Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota and Texas), education length was not stated and therefore had to be approximated based on the education length given in Indiana and Kentucky. Experience (usually, this is on-the-job training provided by another licensed sampler) was similarly estimated in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Maryland.
Optician
In line with principles detailed in Appendix A, this report generally observes the least restrictive possible license for a given occupation in each state. In the case of the optician occupation, this approach resulted in observation of licenses allowing the performance of significantly different duties. Fourteen states have only one option for licensure: a license that allows licensees to fit or dispense both regular eyeglass lenses and contact lenses. However, eight other states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia) offer an option that allows licensees to fit or dispense regular eyeglass lenses only (in Arkansas and Rhode Island, this is the only option for licensure). As this is the least restrictive (or only) option in those states, this is the license observed.
Pharmacy Technician
In seven states (Arizona, Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington), pharmacy technicians must receive experience via on-the-job training with the employing pharmacy, during which certain topics must be covered. The states do not, however, specify how long pharmacy technicians must spend in this training. As it happens, most of the topics required to be covered in this training closely align with the entry-level pharmacy technician curriculum goals of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). Because of this similarity, ASHP’s training program length (600 hours) is used where training hours are not specified.
Public School Teacher
Some states offer preliminary licenses for public school teachers, including two teaching occupations studied in this report: public preschool teachers, who must be licensed teachers in every state that licenses them, and head coaches, who must be licensed teachers in seven of the 48 states that license them. These licenses are less burdensome than those states’ continuously renewable professional teaching licenses, but they are also only temporary: In order to continue teaching, teachers must eventually convert them to a continuously renewable license by logging teaching experience on the preliminary license and completing a mentoring or teacher induction program. In keeping with principles outlined in Appendix A, this report therefore observes the requirements for states’ continuously renewable licenses, which include the requirements for a preliminary license where one must be obtained first.
In the public preschool teacher occupation, 17 states have only the continuously renewable professional teaching license: Alabama, Arkansas, D.C., Florida, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming. The remaining 33 states require a preliminary license before they will issue the continuously renewable one.
In the head coach occupation, three states (Arkansas, Oklahoma and Virginia) have only the continuously renewable professional teaching license. The other four states that require coaches to be teachers (Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey and Ohio) require a preliminary license before they will issue the continuously renewable one.
Shampooer
Seven states (Alabama, Louisiana, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia) issue a license specific to shampooers. However, in 30 states, shampooing is interpreted as falling under the scope of other licenses administered by barbering and cosmetology boards. And, because those 30 states do not exempt shampooing from licensure, this report considers them to license the broad occupation of shampooer.
To give a better understanding of which licenses are observed in each state for the shampooer occupation, the type of license (barber, barber assistant/technician, cosmetologist, hairstylist/dresser/cutter/designer or shampoo assistant/technician/technologist) and the states that observe that license type are listed in Table B4 below.
Table B4: Shampooer Licensing
| Type of License | States |
|---|---|
| Barber | California, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming |
| Barber Assistant/Technician | Arkansas, South Carolina and Texas |
| Cosmetologist | Delaware, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota |
| Hairstylist/Dresser/Cutter/Designer | Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri and Ohio |
| Shampoo Assistant/Technician/Technologist | Alabama, Louisiana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Tennessee and West Virginia |
Travel Guide
Travel guides work in a variety of settings, including fishing, hunting and rafting, to name only a few. Some states only license travel guides working in a single setting. For example, a state might license hunting guides but no other types of travel guides. In cases of states that license more than one setting, the setting requiring the least burdensome license is used. This approach creates variability in the type of license observed across states. The type of travel guide license observed in each state is listed in Table B5 below.
Table B5: Travel Guide Licensing
| Type of License | State(s) |
|---|---|
| Hunting | Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming (deer/antelope only) |
| Fishing | Alaska (freshwater), Georgia (saltwater), Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland (freshwater), Massachusetts (saltwater), Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island (saltwater), South Carolina (saltwater), Texas (freshwater), Virginia (saltwater) and Washington (freshwater) |
| Hunting or Fishing | Arkansas |
| Hunting and Fishing | Connecticut, North Carolina, Tennessee (and trapping) and Wisconsin (and trapping) |
| River Rafting | Colorado |
| Recreation (Hiking, Camping, etc.) | Maine, New York and Oregon |
| General Guide (Any of the Above) | California and West Virginia |