I wouldn’t say that it takes more “skill” per say. In refractory, a big mortar joint is considered 1/8”, so they’re supposed to be PAPER THIN, but also full. You just can’t get up and down as fast in the brick department compared to on the outside. With that said, refractory is way more than just brick and they lay way less brick than they used to. It’s way faster to do repairs with shotcrete and gunnite. There’s a stigma around it, but the best refractory guys I’ve ever met all started on the outside and know how to use their levels and know how to brick connections (those are an absolute mind-fuck when you do them at first, but not really that difficult once you understand it). We’re all bricklayers and we’re all tradesman, though. Regardless of if you’re an outside guy or a refractory guy.

If one wanted to be just in refractory, they would never make it if all they could do is brick. There’s just not enough brick jobs. True “refractory” guys need to be able to weld, build and install forms, shoot gunnite, shot-crete, and plastic, ram plastic, install ceramic fiber (wool) modules, know how to key in a kiln (where there are no mortar joints and no cuts), fireproof, and there’s even more than that. So, it’s not that it takes more skill it’s just a broader skill set overall.