Learns plumbing on the job under a licensed plumber while taking classes.
You dig trenches for drain lines, learn to solder copper and glue PVC, and study plumbing code at night. Each year your pay goes up.
Starts around 40-50% of journeyman pay, rising each year.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma; apply to a union or contractor apprenticeship. Paid from day one, with raises as you learn.
Ways in: Apprenticeship. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Plumbing Apprenticeship.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. Apprentices haul, cut and install pipe in real buildings; plumber shortages mean strong demand for new trainees.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to plumbing contractors or ABC/PHCC apprenticeship programs; union (UA) programs take longer First: Plumbing apprentice registration with the state in many states
Classes: Algebra, Plumbing or construction CTE, Physics.
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.