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It takes around 5 years to get through the apprenticeship. This is longer than it takes to get a college degree. Also you will likely not be making 200k as one, and certainly not in the early years. If the median is 56k you are overwhelmingly likely to make in that bell curve - so between 40k and 70k.
Another con I think people forget - you can screw up, and then your career is over. Plumbers are at a fairly high risk for lawsuits. Even if it's not that bad, reputation is important like in any trade. If you screw up a few jobs, you won't get more jobs. Also it is one of the higher risk jobs for work related injuries, and even if you don't get injured, just the normal strain on your back is pretty tough.
People think these trades are just neglected opportunities that people don't take because of some kind of bias, but they are tougher than people let on. It is also unionized in most states, which is WHY it is well paid.
Autism definitely explains it. We do residential and commercial plumbing. Some of my customers are on the Forbes list or famous politicians you see on the news often. It’s very important for plumbers to be able to effectively communicate with homeowners in a positive way. Being shy, gruff or cumbersome doesn’t end well. It’s very much a sales like position. You don’t just enter a home and jump into work. You have to build relationships and trust with customers.
Well as I said earlier thank God every state doesn't view things the way mine ( and others, judging by this response) do. But I'm sure those who have no power here in Connecticut next time a "super storm" goes through will be thankful they weren't subjected to having a non people person restoring their electricity. Thank you for a good chuckle.
But most plumbers have no interaction with customers because most is in new construction on large crews. The project managers are the only ones who interact with the customers or client. Most plumbers are not going to peoples homes alone and doing work. That is low paying residential work anyways.
Heck my autistic son would have been happy to do that low paying work, assuming the same applies to electricians. But now I'm not worried .... let them all sit in the dark. Beats having a shy, non-people person restore your electricity.
Even when we do new construction and rough in’s, we still have to communicate with contractors, hone owners and inspectors which does require some savvy people skills. I am not sure where you get the idea that plumbers are able to just work without communication. How would you expect them to even know the scope of the job without some level of interaction at job sites? Picking up parts at supply houses?
I am getting ready to spend the next hour talking to insurance adjusters regarding recent projects.
Again, there is no homeowner in commercial construction and the communication is done by management. You use the term “we” as if it applies to the plumber when it actually applies to management. The interaction for the plumber is with the Forman, not the customer. The foreman then communicates with management. Why would anyone other than management be talking with the customer, inspectors, or client outside of low paying residential house calls?? That’s not what they are paid to do! The plumbers aren’t sitting in any meetings or determining scopes of work. It doesn’t require savvy people skills to pick up parts at supply houses.
...a pair of skilled hands does not mean an idle brain.
True, of course.
But let me give you an anecdote involving two trades from residential construction - a semi-custom build of my house from 30 years ago. The two trades: plumbing and drywall installation.
I looked at the hallway and said, gee; the wall isn't flat; it bows out into the corridor quite a bit. It turns a plumber had a black plastic ABS pipe (maybe 2 1/2 inch diameter) going from the 1st floor up to the 2nd floor; this pipe stuck out into the corridor a bit and the sheetrockers just rocked around it.
I said this wasn't acceptable - the plumber needed to move the pipe so the sheetrock wall was flat. Then I asked the sheetrock supervisor why the rocked around a pipe rather than bringing it to the attention of someone. This is a direct quote:
"They pay us to hang sheetrock. They do not pay us to think."
Again, there is no homeowner in commercial construction and the communication is done by management. You use the term “we” as if it applies to the plumber when it actually applies to management. The interaction for the plumber is with the Forman, not the customer. The foreman then communicates with management. Why would anyone other than management be talking with the customer, inspectors, or client outside of low paying residential house calls?? That’s not what they are paid to do! The plumbers aren’t sitting in any meetings or determining scopes of work. It doesn’t require savvy people skills to pick up parts at supply houses.
We don’t do much commercial. We do 5-10 million dollar houses frequently and I can assure you that at times the homeowners do involve themselves. They don’t always just let a property manager handle everything. And yes plumbers do need to communicate well.
We don’t do much commercial. We do 5-10 million dollar houses frequently and I can assure you that at times the homeowners do involve themselves. They don’t always just let a property manager handle everything. And yes plumbers do need to communicate well.
Residential. So the lowest paid, least skilled, and least English speakers of the industry. They don’t even have unions for residential work.
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Blue collar
