Plumbers

Hi all, I am new here to the forums. I want to ask some questions directed to professional plumbers. Right now, I am looking for a career change. I am currently in the healthcare field and was planning on going to medical school next year. I'm seriously considering changing my career goals for several reasons. Main thing is, with the way the healthcare field is moving, I don't think I want the emotional or stress involved with a changing healthcare system.

I've been considering possible career changes for several months now and have a lot of interest in plumbing. I've recently done some small plumbing projects around my house and really enjoyed the labor and time spent building/repairing some minor projects around the house. My experience in plumbing is very little, however, I am a very quick learner (you have to be to be considering medical school). My questions will be listed below. Any serious answers are greatly appreciated.

1. Do I need to go to a technical school or can I begin working with a licensed plumber and work my way through the levels of apprenticeship, etc.?

2. What can I expect to make on the journey from novice to master plumber? (I know personal question. If anyone feels comfortable to answer, it would be much appreciated)

3. I want to move to the southeastern Wisconsin area. Is there a need/demand for plumbers in this area (Kenosha/Racine)?

4. How willing are master plumbers to take apprentices on?

5. What hours do plumbers work? I currently work from 4am-4pm. How drastic of a time change will I need to make?

Anything else important would be greatly appreciated as well.

Technical school would be a big help. But not necessary. What it will do is get you in the door before someone with out that training. As far as the willingness to take on and train a apprentices. All I can speak for is myself. I found that it wasn't worth my time or effort to train a green employee just to bring him up to the point were he was making money for the company and then have him quit because he found another line of work. But that's just me. When my own son came out of trade school I put him to work with my best employee for the first year. I am now retired and he owns the business. I had seen the results of other fathers bringing there sons into the trade. The were either so tough on him that it turned him off from the trade or they were so easy on him he didn't learn anything.

John

Thanks for your input John! I appreciate your advice. The program I was looking at requires that you become an apprentice and take some courses at the same time at the local trade school. Does this sound reasonable?

Trade schools a becoming a thing of the past. Collage is the way most are going. But from what I'm starting to see is many can't find employment after graduation. Plus the have the big debt from there collage loans. I don't like to sound like an old fart but those loans weren't available in my day that's the reason why my high school was a four years in trade school. There are times when I wish I had a collage education but for the most part I have no regrets. I have made a good living in the plumbing trade that allowed me to provide for my family. After all isn't that what it's all about?

John

Plumbing school is 4 yrs and all you end up with is license. I work for a huge mechanical plumbing company. I chose college for mechanical engineering. With that degree you dont have to go to trade school and can take the master plumbers exam with a mechanical engineering degree. So you have a degree and a license. You can write your own ticket with that. Bo apprentiship needed

The trade school I went to was also a high school. After the four years I had a high school diploma plus four years trade experiences. Like I said my family didn't have the money to send me to collage. To each his own. Don't understand your last statement.

(Bo apprentiship needed)

John

mikec said:

Plumbing school is 4 yrs and all you end up with is license. I work for a huge mechanical plumbing company. I chose college for mechanical engineering. With that degree you dont have to go to trade school and can take the master plumbers exam with a mechanical engineering degree. So you have a degree and a license. You can write your own ticket with that. Bo apprentiship needed

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Schooling alone will not write you a complete ticket, you need OJT (on the job training). All employment fields has some form of an apprentiship, even Doctors.

IFIXH20 said:

Schooling alone will not write you a complete ticket, you need OJT (on the job training). All employment fields has some form of an apprentiship, even Doctors.

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We all know that old story. (it works on paper) I wish I had a nickle for every set of mechanical drawings I have seen that just didn't work in the real world.

John

John, you could have retired earlier.

IFIXH20 said:

John, you could have retired earlier.

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Retirement isn't what it's cracked up to be. It took me TWO day's to get use to it.

John

And I wish that I had a nickel for every stamped set of plumbing drawings drawn by an engineer that I have found either code violations in or was able to quickly come up with a much better way of doing it. 4 years of college is no guaruntee of a useful knowledge base. I am a firm believer in having anyone who plans on designing construction spend considerable time iinstalling it first.

apperkins said:

Hi all, I am new here to the forums. I want to ask some questions directed to professional plumbers. Right now, I am looking for a career change. I am currently in the healthcare field and was planning on going to medical school next year. I'm seriously considering changing my career goals for several reasons. Main thing is, with the way the healthcare field is moving, I don't think I want the emotional or stress involved with a changing healthcare system.

I've been considering possible career changes for several months now and have a lot of interest in plumbing. I've recently done some small plumbing projects around my house and really enjoyed the labor and time spent building/repairing some minor projects around the house. My experience in plumbing is very little, however, I am a very quick learner (you have to be to be considering medical school). My questions will be listed below. Any serious answers are greatly appreciated.




1. Do I need to go to a technical school or can I begin working with a licensed plumber and work my way through the levels of apprenticeship, etc.?

2. What can I expect to make on the journey from novice to master plumber? (I know personal question. If anyone feels comfortable to answer, it would be much appreciated)

3. I want to move to the southeastern Wisconsin area. Is there a need/demand for plumbers in this area (Kenosha/Racine)?

4. How willing are master plumbers to take apprentices on?

5. What hours do plumbers work? I currently work from 4am-4pm. How drastic of a time change will I need to make?

Anything else important would be greatly appreciated as well.

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I know that this forum is fairly old, but for anyone else that may have the same questions, I will try and help you out a bit and then some.

1. I had no experience at all when I started, I simply applied at a local plumbing company and was hired as an apprentice.

2. Money, I started around $12 per hour as an apprentice. Not bad for getting paid for your education. Journeyman I am now around $20 here in Western Nebraska.

3. I am sure that there is a need for Plumbers almost anywhere I would say.

4.I would say that Some Plumbers would prefer no experience, that way they can train you the way they want to.

5. When I first started out I was literally working bankers hours (8-5) M-F and on call like once per month.

If I could give someone some advice, I took the Penn Foster online Plumber course which was a big help. Also you will need to be an apprentice for 3-4 years before becoming a Journeyman Plumber depending upon your jurisdiction.

About The Journeyman test:

I took the journeyman plumber exam this morning. I had been studying for this thing for 2 to 3 months solid prior to taking this test.

It was not nowhere near as bad as what I thought it was going to be. In fact, it was relatively simple. If you know most everything in your UPC study guide you will be just fine!

There was one simple gas piping drawing and one simple DWV piping drawing on my exam. Both of which were exact copies of the ones in the study guide! There was no water pipe sizing whatsoever on my journeyman test.

In my opinion, the test was relatively easy due to the excessive amount of studying that I had done.

If I could give anyone any pointers to help them be more comfortable and prepared for passing their journeyman test , I would say the most important thing to do would be:

#1 Don't waste your money on a prep course I didn't.

#2 Invest in the UPC IAPMO STUDY GUIDE.

#3 make flash cards of your study guide.

#4 study study study your study guide A LOT.

#5 KNOW WHERE to find things in your Code Book!

If you KNOW your code book inside and out, you will have no problem with this test.

One thing that I did to make this whole thing easier for me was, I made flashcards of every single question in the study guide except for the reference standards and then I got to the point where I could know everything in the study guide and continuously score at least a 90 to 95% of my flash cards correct all of the time. And I feel as if I got a 90 to 95% on my actual exam.

About the exam. I brought my own copy of the 2012 UPC and a calculator with square root key! There were 100 multiple-choice questions on my UPC exam and the drawings part consisted of probably a total of 50 questions between GAS and DWV where you size the piping, so probably a total of 150 questions in all. They gave us a total of four hours (Open Book) to complete the exam! There were only two Math problems in the multiple choice part. It literally took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete the exam, and I spent another 45 minutes to 1 hour going over my answers before I turned in my test.

So if there is anyone out there, that is as nervous as I was about taking their journeyman plumber exam, don't be.

Also all of the questions on my exam were literally almost Word for Word exactly what was in the UPC study guide as if they were literally picked out of the study guide at random.

Though I do remember quite a few of the questions asked and which drawings that were tested, I will not reveal that to you as that would just not do you justice in earning your license, and if your going to be a plumber, I feel that you guys and gals should know this stuff anyway.

As I sat there taking the test, you can definitely tell who studied well and who didn't! It was kind of funny sitting there watching and listening to a few of these guys aimlessly flipping back and fourth through their code book looking for answers they couldn't find with sighs of frustration on their breath simply because they did not study for it. I bet that doesn't impress the exam proctor very much either.

I got my letter in the mail and passed my Journeyman Plumber test with a 98%

I hope that this will help clear things up a bit on what to expect on your journeyman plumbers exam for those of you that are unsure of what to expect on the test. If you study, You will do just fine!

Best of Luck -Plumber Ryan

reading book and taking a test. only means you read a book and took a test.

if you have no ojt, you will not know how to DO anything.

the code tells you what it shall be, not how to accomplish it.



find a plumber, stick to him like glue, watch what and how he does things.

most of us old guys, know little tricks we take for granted, and never pass it on, you have to watch



remember this, it is the plumber you are apprenticing under not the company.
if he leaves, you leave, folllow him

you must have proof of hours worked to get your license,

4 years of hours, then after receiving your journeyman's, and a masters endorsement

a 2 year wait to take your masters

with provable hours

frodo said:

you must have proof of hours worked to get your license,

4 years of hours, then after receiving your journeyman's, and a masters endorsement

a 2 year wait to take your masters

with provable hours

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Guess it all depends on where you are.
Here, only the responsible party, The licensed contractor of the business is required to have a contactors license and associated Plumbing license.
Unless you're in the union doing Union jobs. That is usually major new construction. Service and repair work has no Union here. Up in LA area they have stricter requirements.

But then again that may explain why I run into a lot of crap work that was done improperly by others. I see a lot of hack work here.

I started by cleaning Drains. I have never had any formal training expect for code class. A few product classes from venders promoting their Commercial water heaters, or 1 day Gas-tite class, or Pro-press tools.

I would say Frodo is a real plumber and for you to follow his advice.

If you want a 8-5 job, then new construction is what you want.
Service work is a whole different animal.
Work is like a rollercoaster on some days. You're going to be on-call. How much may depend on how big of a company you work for and how greedy they are for you to work odd hours. It can get nasty sometimes.

I totally agree with you Frodo, reading the book is only a part of it but you have to know the legalities of the code. And like you said, on the job training and Watching is key! I had and still have a great master plumber and he tries to show me most everything that he knows but still there are things he does that he doesn't even think of telling the newbies because he is just so used to doing it! I think we all are constantly learning as we go! I should have been a bit more specific in my comment above.

I was a librarian before I became a plumber! [emoji2] But I knew you can't go anywhere working at a library. I wanted a trade I could take anywhere and make a good money. So I went from working 16 hours over two weeks in an air-conditioned building to do plumbing. People thought I was crazy at first but it paid off in the end. I was barely over 17, driving 3 hours round trip, to make 8 bucks an hour. I was still living at home so it wasn't too bad. I spent $150 on gas every week and usually had to borrow the last $20 from a friend to fill the tank to come back for payday. But now I've stayed with the same company for the whole time, it's a small company, now just me and my boss with a fresh apprentice, and I'm now a licensed journeyman making more money than I need since I have no debt and reasonable rent. I'm less than 30 minutes from the company and only have to work 40 hours/5 days a week. I say it's a pretty good gig. I say what I say about everything, you just gotta want to. I tell younger ones who don't want know what they want to do, pick up a trade. You start young, by the time you want to move on out on your own you can actually support yourself and make it comfortably. True story.

snowyman800 said:

I was a librarian before I became a plumber! [emoji2] But I knew you can't go anywhere working at a library. I wanted a trade I could take anywhere and make a good money. So I went from working 16 hours over two weeks in an air-conditioned building to do plumbing. People thought I was crazy at first but it paid off in the end. I was barely over 17, driving 3 hours round trip, to make 8 bucks an hour. I was still living at home so it wasn't too bad. I spent $150 on gas every week and usually had to borrow the last $20 from a friend to fill the tank to come back for payday. But now I've stayed with the same company for the whole time, it's a small company, now just me and my boss with a fresh apprentice, and I'm now a licensed journeyman making more money than I need since I have no debt and reasonable rent. I'm less than 30 minutes from the company and only have to work 40 hours/5 days a week. I say it's a pretty good gig. I say what I say about everything, you just gotta want to. I tell younger ones who don't want know what they want to do, pick up a trade. You start young, by the time you want to move on out on your own you can actually support yourself and make it comfortably. True story.

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The librarian in a local city here just retired at 370k a year. I guess it all depends on where you work.

I dropped out of high school and went to work. When I turned 18 I started for a pipe supplier and worked my way up quickly from order puller to estimator. I then jumped over to work for a contractor, worked for him for about six years and then got licensed and started my own company. Started working for myself at 29 and am now 36 and doing ok.

If you are willing to work hard you can be or do anything you want to in life. I grew up dirt floor poor and my kids now have the things I could only dream of at their age.

Don't get carried away, in talking things like dinner every night and the lights on. Not fancy crap.

Chris said:

The librarian in a local city here just retired at 370k a year. I guess it all depends on where you work.

I dropped out of high school and went to work. When I turned 18 I started for a pipe supplier and worked my way up quickly from order puller to estimator. I then jumped over to work for a contractor, worked for him for about six years and then got licensed and started my own company. Started working for myself at 29 and am now 36 and doing ok.

If you are willing to work hard you can be or do anything you want to in life. I grew up dirt floor poor and my kids now have the things I could only dream of at their age.

Don't get carried away, in talking things like dinner every night and the lights on. Not fancy crap.

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Hey, I should move there and be a librarian!! I was from a teeny-tiny town in Oklahoma. Hence the drive to the "big" city. I'm not sure if you meant I was getting carried away, but yes, that is true if I unintentionally made it sound like that. I meant I keep it simple, THEN I have more money than I need. No payments, no debt, just my beat-up car and our reasonable rent home, don't need the fancy crap. Plus my wife works part-time as well so we're definitely able to save money.

California is over inflated and crooks in every office. If you are willing to join them you can do well.

I agree if you make enough to pay your bills and are happy than that is all that matters.

I do good with my company but sometimes the headache is not worth the reward. Heck I'm not even a plumber. I just dig holes for a living.

We have two company mottos.

Our work is so ugly we have to bury it

We do it right because we do it twice.

Chris said:

California is over inflated and crooks in every office. If you are willing to join them you can do well.

I agree if you make enough to pay your bills and are happy than that is all that matters.

I do good with my company but sometimes the headache is not worth the reward. Heck I'm not even a plumber. I just dig holes for a living.

We have two company mottos.

Our work is so ugly we have to bury it

We do it right because we do it twice.

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I find it a little funny you mention all of this. Only because I was just talking to my boss about this very thing. In the future, I was thinking about working for myself. I know now I have nowhere near enough experience to handle everything that would come my way. Of course with anything, you always have to be willing to adapt and learn, but I know more time working under someone would be good. But my boss said if somebody would pay him $30 an hour and all he had to do was ONLY work, not manage a business, he would do it. Sure the benefits are there in working for yourself, but like you said as well, sometimes it's a whole lot of headache. My boss loves doing plumbing, he just hates doing all the paper and office work. I like where I'm at, so maybe I'll just stick around there and when I'm done at the end of the day, not have to overly worry about everything.