Plumbing is a profession that has been around for centuries, but with the advancement in society, is it still a good career option?
Plumbing is a good career choice as your services will always be in demand. As long as an area has people, there will be a need for proper water systems. Plumbing offers consistent job advancement opportunities, job security, and good returns, especially for someone with excellent skills.
Is Becoming A Plumber Worth It?
You must have heard parents encourage their children to go to college so they can get a good job. By ‘good job,’ you know they mean a job in a cool office somewhere with a cute girl in the next cubicle. Most of them undermine hands-on jobs like plumbing because of their dirty nature and discourage their children from taking up such.
It’s good advice, no doubt. But, it has led to a sharp shortage of skills in areas like plumbing which are crucial to ensure people’s lives go undisrupted. It’s high time more people embrace skill-based trades like plumbing, even though it’s considered a dirty job.
Plumbing is a decent job and totally worth it. It’s a career with many benefits attached to it, considering that you can progress and establish your own plumbing company. There are also opportunities to specialize and become a master in a specific area in the plumbing industry.
The best way to up-skill may not be by joining a class in a university but by apprenticeship. If you work for a while with a professional in the field, you gain the skills which help you work independently.
Some plumbing companies may not offer you a job right away because maybe they have enough people working for them. In this case, you can provide volunteer services or ask to shadow the professionals as they work.
Exposing yourself to real work on the ground will open the space for you so that you’re able to work in different environments. As an apprentice, you’ll get to ask questions and learn from the best. It’s a great way to save your college school fees and start earning right after high school.
You must understand that unclogging drains is the lesser part of the job, and becoming a plumber is much more than that. It’s a job that ensures that people are living a quality life with access to clean piped water inside their houses, as well as a properly functioning sewer system.
As you go about your work, you’ll get the satisfaction of helping people and receiving genuine gratitude for it as you help fix their drainage issues. Despite the dirt, you’ll get good pay, which is enough to live independently and support your family.
Is Plumbing A Good Career in 2021?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates an employment growth rate of 4% in the plumbing industry between 2019 and 2029. That means there will create more jobs for plumbers and pipefitters within this period.
Plumbing comes with lots of benefits, and you can build a successful life as a plumber. Here are some of the benefits of becoming a plumber.
Long-term earning potential
There will never come a time when people will not need piped water or well-fitted bathrooms. That means there will always be work for you even in a hundred years. Considering the projected growth, the demand for plumbers is expected to increase in the coming years.
Some plumbers expand their earning potential by launching plumbing companies where they can incorporate bigger machinery and personnel to offer plumbing solutions. This ensures a constant flow of income and employment for other people working in the company.
Consistent work
A plumber will always have work. Some clients call you for work even at the odd hours of the night. A plumber can work for even 80 hours a week, depending on the number of jobs available that week.
More than that, a career in plumbing opens multiple doors where a plumber can choose to work on the ground repairing water and sewer systems, designing water systems in new establishments, expanding existing water systems, or developing new technology for plumbing advancement.
Good pay
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an apprentice plumber earns $27.08 per hour of work, translating to $56,330 per year. With potential career progression, a more experienced plumber gets to make more, even in six figures.
Even though plumbing is a career that involves hard work and commitment, constant up-skilling increases the potential to earn more with time.
Easy career progression
Plumbing holds no closed doors in terms of career progression. With the right exposure and apprenticeship, a plumber can easily grow from fixing bathrooms and water systems in people’s homes to owning a plumbing company.
Universities have also started offering advanced courses for plumbers where they can pursue a degree as well as specialization programs.
Job Variety
As a plumber, you’ll work with different people and in different environments. Also, the magnitude of the project will vary depending on the nature of the job.
Plumbing is not a stationary job in an office somewhere. That means you’ll have to travel from place to place as the job demands. In the process, you expose yourself to different people and environments, which in turn broadens your view on the job.
Job Flexibility
There’s nothing more frustrating than needing a break from work and not getting it. This is common when working for someone in an office. Plumbing is different because of the independence and flexibility that come with it.
You can work whenever you want and enjoy a good work-life balance. Get clients to book you beforehand so that you can plan your day or week in advance and free up time when you can rest or spend time with your family.
Is Plumbing a Dying Trade?
The negative energy directed towards hands-on jobs like plumbing wrecks the desire in youths to pursue it. Today’s generation is trained to dislike skill trades and instead prefer the white-collar jobs in big companies.
However, not everyone can work there. There has to be someone fixing the water systems and ensuring that drainage isn’t a mess, especially in large settlements like cities.
Also, the Covid-19 pandemic has rendered many people jobless as the companies downsize to keep business afloat. As a result, more people are now embracing plumbing as it provides more financial independence compared to formal employment.
As mentioned earlier, a plumber’s job is irreplaceable, and people will always need a plumber now and then for their drainage needs. Therefore, we can say for sure that plumbing is not a dying trade.
Conclusion
Different factors can push you to become a plumber. However, you must ensure that whatever your push is, it is strong enough to keep you motivated when you feel like giving up. Plumbing is not an easy job, and so you must learn to love the job so that you can accomplish more milestones.
