Becoming a plumber apprentice is the first step towards becoming a master plumber. If you had thought a plumber to just visit houses and offices checking out water leakages and repairing them, there’s more to this job title than just that. You need to have the right amount of self motivation and a certain grit which is otherwise not found in the white-collar sector. Plumbing is a hands-on job, but you only earn when your hands get dirty. With responsibilities like unclogging drains, including faucet, commode, and urinal drains, a plumber apprentice finds an important place in the society. Nevertheless, the plumbing field is a flourishing industry. Once you start moving up from an apprentice to a journeyman and a master plumber, your pay simply doubles and triples. With just three years of experience in your hand after you compete your course, you can apply for a plumbing license that will declare you a master plumber.
Becoming A Plumber Apprentice
Eligibility
To be eligible for becoming a plumber apprentice, you have to be at least seventeen or eighteen years of age, though it may depend upon the state you are living in. Most locations require you to complete a high school diploma or equivalent to this study. Requirements vary from state to state and country to country. Some areas even ask you to undergo a written exam to qualify for the course. In case your locality does not demand any legal requirements for becoming a plumber apprentice, look out for a certified plumber under whom you can work as an apprentice. This ensures that the plumbers have the right kind of knowledge to share with you. Let the plumber know why you want to work in this field and what qualities you can bring to the job. Do not hesitate to convey your good qualities.
Courses Required
Many vocational, technical, and community colleges offer apprenticeship training programs that constitutes of on-the-job plumbing training and plumbing courses. However, there are many private plumbing companies that train their plumber apprentices for apprenticeships. This course enables a student to be a technician at the entry level.
Training
While enrolling for a plumber apprentice course, you will receive both on-the-job and classroom instructions. Classroom lectures will provide you knowledge about drafting, blueprint reading, math, applied physics and chemistry, safety skills, and details of plumbing codes and regulations for the area in which you are receiving the training. On the job, alternatively, you will be taught to identify grades and types of pipes, uses of regular tools, and safely unloading materials. Besides, the training will give you information on how to work with all types of piping and how to install different pipe systems.
Skills Required
To become a plumber apprentice, you have to be physically fit capable of lifting moderate amount of weight, be able to work in all kinds of weather, and be capable of working in deep ditches that may exceed 100 feet or even more. For this, you need to have high amounts of dexterity and stamina. Besides, a plumber apprentice should have excellent written and verbal communication skills, including listening and following simple and complex instructions. He should be able to examine and practice the use of plumbing tools, piping, recognition of fittings and their uses, how waste and sewage are handled, maintenance, and water delivery. You should know basic math and have average coordination. Further, basic communication skills are a must as you may not know with whom you may have to interact for he could be a homeowner or a contractor.
Roles & Responsibilities
At the end of the course, a plumber apprentice should understand the work included in plumbing-related maintenance as well as safety and health requirements. He should know how to create piping projects using the required tools and materials, along with installing plumbing systems and fixtures that meet all code requirements. He should also have knowledge about repair septic lines, furnace, water pumps, sinks, taps, wells, tanks, emptying septic tanks, and drainage pipes. He must be able to unclog pipes, mend pipe ruptures and cracks, replace damaged and busted pipes, deal with leaking taps, and supply equipment to clean up floods and messes attributed to backed or damaged waste lines. Apart from piping and sewage issues, a plumber apprentice should be able to improve water pressure. He must be capable of figuring out the reasons for low water pressure and fix it. He should have a general understanding of the working of the circulation of water and wastewater entering and exiting the house.
Career Prospects
If a plumber apprentice is what you have picked up as your career, then make sure when you apply for a job, the employers are hiring a plumber apprentice and not a plumber’s helper. Also, check out whether they are connected with a state sponsored program or not. Nevertheless, working as a plumber’s helper can sometimes help you firm your foot in the industry, thereby finding opportunities to become a full-fledged plumber apprentice. Whatever step you take, think twice and stick to it. Depending upon the location you are residing in, different standard pay scales have been assigned for plumber apprentices by the federal and state government agencies. You will be paid half the salary of a licensed plumber and will increase with experience and skills gained. If given a chance, don’t refrain from working in hospitals, commercial banking maintenance, and others as a maintenance plumber and general maintenance plumber. You need not be a licensed plumber to work under such organizations. However, you can use them as a step towards becoming a master plumber and enrolling for a union sponsored apprenticeship training program.
Plumber apprentices make a decent amount of earning, particularly because they are paid on hourly basis. Over the last few years, there has been a considerable growth in the demand for plumber apprentices. With four or five years of training, a plumber apprentice can take an examination and become a licensed plumber. All the best and get set for mending all the water systems around!
