Also called: Plumber
Installs and repairs water, drain, and gas pipes in homes and buildings.
You rough in the pipes for a new house, then get called to a restaurant with a backed-up drain and snake it before the dinner rush.
BLS May 2024 median $62,970 for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.
Apprenticeship, about 5 years after high school. Paid apprenticeship (4-5 years) through the United Association (UA) union or contractor programs: earn while you learn, no tuition debt. Then a state journeyman exam.
Ways in: Apprenticeship, Trade school, Military. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Plumbing Technology (trade school), Plumbing Apprenticeship.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years). BLS 2024-34; about 44,000 openings a year from retirements.
Low risk for 10 years. Every house and leak is different; AI may help diagnose with cameras, but cutting, joining and running pipe stays manual.
Classes: Algebra, Physics, Plumbing or construction CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 47-2152.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.