While many career paths require years of schooling and expensive tuition, in the field of plumbing you will be trained while on the job – and while earning a wage! Plumbers begin to earn at the apprentice level without significant tuition payments or are burdened with student loan debt like degree programs at a four-year college or university. Apprenticeships are a combination of hands-on and classroom learning.

While is varies by location, plumbing apprenticeships are approximately four years long with 8,000 hours of learning.

As a plumber, you have great earning potential. The average plumber makes about $56,330/year according to the 2020 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. With that said, Time Magazine points out that in cities across the U.S., such as New York, LA, Chicago and Boston, plumbers are in high demand and can make up to $250,000/year!

Becoming a plumber grants you the opportunity to find a job today. The demand for skilled tradespeople continues to grow.

“Right now, American manufacturing is struggling to fill 200,000 vacant positions. There are 450,000 openings in trades, transportation and utilities. The Skills Gap is real, and it’s getting wider. In Alabama, a third of all skilled tradesmen are over 55. They’re retiring fast, and no one is there to replace them.”
– Mike Rowe

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are the essential building blocks of careers that cross industries and impact our daily lives in different ways. STEM is the foundation of technical careers that propel our future workforce forward to stability, career growth and success. STEM is the skilled trade of plumbing.

New technologies in water conservation and money-saving are more popular now than ever. Choosing a career in plumbing means you’ll be at the forefront of advances in environmental science to save water and conserve energy. You can be proud of the fact that you’re not only improving the lives of homeowners through the plumbing trade, but you’ll also be helping save the planet.