PLUMBER
Plumbers are skilled craftsmen who install, repair, and alter pipe systems which carry gases, water and other liquids required for sanitation, storm water, industrial production, and other uses. They install plumbing fixtures, appliances, bathtubs, basins, sinks, showers, and grease line systems. They work from blueprints and working drawings to determine materials required for installation. They cut and thread pipe, using pipe cutters, cutting torches, and pipe threading machines.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Plumbers may have to work indoors or outdoors on a ladder or scaffold, underground in a trench, a crawlspace under a building, or in the unfinished basement of a new building. Some of the work is dirty and messy in dusty or muddy conditions. The work is active and strenuous, with standing, bending, crawling, lifting, pulling, and pushing, and is often done in strict accordance with the state plumbing and mechanical code regulations.
APTITUDE AND INTEREST
A plumber works to solve a variety of problems. As in most service occupations, plumbers need to get along well with all kinds of people, and they can get called out during evenings, weekends, or holidays to perform their job.
TRAINING
To become a skilled plumber training is essential. It can be acquired through registered apprenticeship programs. It is generally accepted that the more formalized training programs give more comprehensive skill training. Recommended high school courses include English, math, drafting, blueprint reading, physics, and chemistry.
Page updated: March 26, 2000