Interested in becoming a Plumber? Consider if: You’re a hands-on, practical person, who enjoys working with their hands. Don’t consider if: You have a fear of confined spaces and/or water.
A Plumber is tasked with assembling, installing and maintain piping for a variety of different systems. Plumbers may choose to specialise in different areas, (for example ‘wet only’ or ‘gas only’), but some skills are constant for most types of Plumbing. For example:
- Cutting, bending and joining pipes and fittings
- Assembling, installing and repairing pipes (either for domestic, commercial or industrial systems)
- Planning and carrying out measurements for each specific job requirement
- Providing time and cost estimates for each job
- Meeting safety standards and performing necessary maintenance tasks
Plumbing is a highly skilled profession, making the job they perform vital for both our personal and professional lives to function.
As a result, you will be expected to work at a fast pace, and easily adapt to any project at hand. Confidence in your ability, and a steadiness of hands, is crucial. Also, as most Plumbers will find themselves working in stranger's houses, adopting a friendly and approachable nature will be essential.
Other key skills include:
- Highly developed technical and mechanical skills
- Manual dexterity
- Exceptional communication skills
- Problem solving
- Ability to work under pressure, and to strict deadlines
Once a suitable level of experience has been achieved, it is then possible to take specific qualifications in order to get into a specialised area of the profession.
You could be a 'wet only plumber', who only handles piping systems carrying water and steam, in bathrooms and radiators for example. You could also be a 'gas only plumber', who often carries out their work in more industrial places such as hospitals and laboratories.
Other typical career paths include progressing to Master Plumber, becoming self-employed or even changing careers to be a Gas Engineer or Electrician.
What's it like to be a Plumber?
I left school at 16, looking to find an apprenticeship to start my career. I didn’t suit a typical 9-5 office job, so I started working as a Plumber’s mate, which taught me some basic plumbing knowledge. I’ve been a Plumber for five years now, and I love it. I get to meet new people, and I feel like I’ve now learnt a trade which will hopefully provide me with a career for life.
