Plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter

National median pay

$63,800

per year · $30.67 per hour

May 2025

Projected employment change

+7%

2025–35

Much faster than average

Jobs in the United States

510,600

Projected openings each year: 42,000

Typical entry-level education

High school diploma or equivalent

On-the-job training

Apprenticeship

What the occupation does

This trade moves fluids safely from where they are to where they need to be, and keeps them out of everywhere else. On the residential side that means water supply, drains, gas lines, and fixtures. On the commercial and industrial side it means large pipe systems for heating, cooling, chemicals, and process steam. The work is part measurement, part fabrication, and a great deal of problem solving when a system that was working yesterday is not working today.

Common daily responsibilities

• Read blueprints and follow the plumbing and mechanical codes your area has adopted.
• Work out the materials, pipe sizes, and equipment a job needs, and prepare cost estimates.
• Cut, thread, bend, solder, braze, and press pipe, and join it so the system is airtight and watertight.
• Install fixtures and appliances: sinks, toilets, water heaters, dishwashers, boilers, and sprinkler heads.
• Pressure-test and inspect completed systems before they are closed up.
• Clear blockages, find leaks, and repair or replace failed pipe and fittings.
• Maintain septic systems and, on the industrial side, service process piping and steam systems.

Typical work environments

• Homes and businesses, often in basements, crawl spaces, and tight chases where the pipes run.
• New construction, installing systems before the building is finished.
• Industrial plants, power plants, and large commercial buildings, working on process and heating piping.
• Emergency service, which is why evenings, weekends, and on-call rotations are common.

Skills and abilities needed

• Practical maths and the ability to measure and cut accurately the first time.
• Physical strength and stamina for lifting pipe, working overhead, and crouching in tight spaces.
• Troubleshooting instinct: being able to reason backwards from a symptom to a cause.
• Comfort with several joining methods, each with its own technique and failure mode.
• Customer-facing patience, because much of residential work happens in somebody's home.
• Willingness to keep current with code changes, which are frequent.

Ways to enter the occupation

• Registered apprenticeship

  The standard route. Paid from day one, with supervised hours on real jobs alongside classroom instruction in code, maths, and theory. Sponsored by union locals, mechanical contractors, and some larger employers.

  Typical duration: Usually 4 to 5 years

• Trade or technical school, then helper work

  A plumbing or mechanical technology certificate can get you hired as a helper faster. It does not replace the supervised hours most states require before you can be licensed.

  Typical duration: 6 months to 2 years, then supervised work

• Helper or labourer entry

  Enter as a plumbing helper or construction labourer and register as an apprentice with an employer sponsor.

  Typical duration: Varies by employer

• Military or utility experience

  Pipefitting, water treatment, and utilities specialties in the armed forces often map to civilian hours. Ask about credential mapping before you separate.

  Typical duration: Varies

How long training takes

Apprenticeships commonly run four to five years, and are paid throughout. A technical certificate takes six months to two years and is normally a way in rather than a shortcut. Because licensing is usually tied to documented supervised hours, the calendar time is set by the hours you can actually work, not only by a course length.

Licensing and certification

Most states require plumbers to be licensed, and the licence is normally tiered: apprentice, journeyman, and master. Requirements typically include documented supervised hours, passing a written and sometimes a practical examination, and in many states a separate business and law examination before you may contract directly with the public. Backflow prevention, medical gas, and gas fitting often carry their own additional certifications. Certification from a trade body is separate and generally voluntary.

This describes the general pattern. It is not a statement about the rules in your state, and nothing here means a trade is licensed nationwide.

Do requirements differ by state?

Yes. Roughly a handful of states do not license plumbers at the state level at all, leaving it to cities or counties, and the rest set their own hour requirements, exam content, and fee schedules. Pipefitters and steamfitters working on industrial systems may be covered by different rules again. Always check the board that issues the licence where you intend to work.

How to find a legitimate program

Search Apprenticeship.gov for registered plumbing and pipefitting programmes, and ask the sponsor directly whether the programme is registered and whether its hours count toward licensing in your state. For school-based training, ask what percentage of graduates find work in the trade and ask to speak to a recent graduate. No legitimate programme can promise you a licence or a job.

Career advancement

• Journeyman, then master plumber, which in most states allows you to contract with the public.
• Specialisation in backflow prevention, medical gas, fire sprinkler systems, or industrial process piping.
• Service manager or field supervisor, running a crew of plumbers.
• Estimator or project manager on mechanical contracting work.
• Inspection or code enforcement, moving to the public side of the trade.

Self-employment

Many plumbers eventually run their own service or contracting business. In most states that requires a master licence, or a master plumber on staff, plus business registration, liability insurance, and often a bond. Self-employment also means pricing work, collecting payment, and handling call-outs at unsociable hours, which is a different skill set from the trade itself.

Self-employment usually brings its own requirements on top of the trade itself, such as a business registration, a contractor licence, insurance, or a bond. Those are separate from the occupational licence and are set by your state.

Related occupations

• Electrician
• Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration technician
• Water and wastewater treatment plant operator
• Welder, cutter, solderer, and brazer

Official resources and next steps

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook

  The federal source for the pay, education, and employment projections shown on this page.

• Apprenticeship.gov — U.S. Department of Labor

  The official register of registered apprenticeship programmes. Search by trade and by state, and confirm that a programme is registered before you trust it.

• CareerOneStop — U.S. Department of Labor

  Official wage data for your own area, local training listings, and the American Job Center nearest you.

• O*NET OnLine — U.S. Department of Labor

  A detailed breakdown of the tasks, tools, and knowledge each occupation actually involves, maintained by the Department of Labor.

• U.S. Department of Labor

  Federal rules on wages, safety, and training, and the starting point for finding the state agency that governs a trade.