Skilled Trades & Technical

Plumber

Fix leaks, unclog drains, and install pipes and fixtures that bring clean water in and carry waste away

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What does a Plumber do?

Plumbers work in houses, apartment buildings, and construction sites. They cut and join pipes, install sinks and water heaters, and answer emergency calls when pipes burst. The job involves tight spaces and dirty work, but it rewards people who like fixing things and talking with customers.

A day in the life

7:00 AMCheck the schedule and load fittings, pipe, and a drain snake in the van
8:00 AMReplace a rotted water heater in a customer's basement
10:30 AMSolder copper pipe joints for a new bathroom on a remodel
12:30 PMClear a clogged kitchen drain with a camera and cable
2:30 PMTest the new lines for leaks by running water at full pressure
4:30 PMWrite up the invoice and explain what you repaired

What's great

  • Paid apprenticeship instead of tuition
  • Emergency and repair work is plentiful
  • Many plumbers go on to run their own shops
  • Skills used in every kind of building

The hard parts

  • Messy work with sewage and grime
  • Work in cramped crawl spaces
  • Nights and weekends for burst pipes
  • Heavy lifting strains the back

What is a Plumber's salary and outlook?

$36k – $90k
Salary Range
Apprenticeship
Typical Education
Growing

Typical pay in this guide runs from about $36,000 to $90,000 a year, with a midpoint around $60,000. These are planning figures for students, not a job offer or an official wage.

CareerLens rates the outlook as Growing.

For the official national outlook, see BLS Occupational Data.

How do you become a Plumber?

A common path is 4–5 year paid apprenticeship plus a state plumbing license. The ladder often runs from Apprentice Plumber to Journeyman Plumber, then Master Plumber, and Plumbing Contractor (own business). Other routes: Trade school course, then apprentice; Union training program; Start as a plumber's helper; Military construction or utilities training.

  • Trade school course, then apprentice
  • Union training program
  • Start as a plumber's helper
  • Military construction or utilities training

Career path

Entry level
Apprentice Plumber
Mid career
Journeyman Plumber
Senior
Master Plumber
Executive
Plumbing Contractor (own business)

Will AI replace a Plumber?

How much will AI change this job?

A little

AI will change only a small part of this job. Most of the work stays hands-on and human.

Plumbing stays hands-on work with only small AI changes.

Plumbers fix pipes, install fixtures, and solve leaks in real buildings, and that will not change much. AI might help with scheduling jobs or looking up parts, but the actual plumbing work still needs skilled hands. This job stays a hands-on, in-person career.

AI can help with

  • Scheduling appointments and tracking job orders
  • Looking up pipe codes and part specs quickly
  • Estimating material costs for a job

What stays human

  • Crawling into tight spaces to fix pipes
  • Diagnosing leaks by sight, sound, and touch
  • Talking with customers about their home problems

Skills to build now

  • Take a basic shop or woodworking class
  • Practice using tools safely at home
  • Join a math class focused on measurements and fractions

Based on public research from Anthropic and OpenAI, drafted with AI, checked automatically, and read by a person. How we know

This describes how the work may change. It is not a prediction that the job will disappear.