Plumber Career: Salary, Training & What the Job Is Really Like

How Much Can I Make? — Real Jobs. Real Stories. Career Insights

In this episode of 'How Much Can I Make?', host Mirav Ozeri sits down with seasoned plumber Mark Anderson to explore the realities of a plumbin

Key takeaways

• Plumbing is highly resistant to automation and AI disruption due to its hands-on, problem-solving nature.
• Experienced plumbers can earn six figures, with income often tied to performance-based incentives (SPFs) like selling water treatment systems.

Main topics

• Plumbing career path and entry requirements
• Salary expectations and income growth over time

Notable quotes

"Shitting's more important than eating." – A life-changing phrase Mark reflects on from his youth.

Conclusion

While plumbing is physically demanding and not glamorous, it offers strong financial rewards, job

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:04) Listen, this isn't a glamorous position. You're going to be in crawl spaces. You're going to be getting dirty. You're going to have soot all over you. It's just not pretty. Hi, welcome back to How Much Can I Make, the podcast about jobs and careers. I'm your host, Merav Uzeri. Plumbing may not be glamorous, but it's essential. It's AI proof, and it's a job in very high demand. My friends all often joke that today's plumber make more money than lawyers. Some truth to that. My guest today, Mark Anderson, is my plumber. He's extremely knowledgeable, very good at troubleshooting any situation. I've been working with him for years. He's going to tell us what the work is really like, how to get started, and whether the money is worth the dirt, stress, and late night calls. So let's turn to my conversation with Mark. Speaker 1 (0:57) So first of all, thanks a lot for doing it. I really appreciate it because I heard that a lot of Gen Z want to be plumbers. So let's dive right in and find out, first of all, what inspired you or made you become a plumber? That's a funny question. Why? Because I used to be a foot messenger right out of high school and I'd walk all over Manhattan. And one day on the way home, I was walking up the ramp past this homeless guy. And as I'm passing him, he's saying, shitting's more important than eating. Shitting's more important than sleeping. And the universe had me in the right place at the right time to hear those words. That didn't inspire me to become a plumber. But years later, I thought back and I said, you know, I might have subconsciously taken that good advice. Speaker 1 (1:47) It is a good advice, and I think he's totally right. But I'm glad you asked that question because, you know, when you said a lot of Gen Z are choosing careers as plumbers, and I would really want to know why individually. What's the why for that? And the reason I'm curious is because I kind of fell into it. I was working at IBM. Somebody hooked me up there, and then they laid us off. And the next thing it opened was a job working as a service tech for a fuel and gas company. And I made the best of it. It wasn't what I would have chosen. But one of the tenets of Buddhism is right occupation. And that's important because it's going to take up most of your time. When you choose your occupation, it has to be something that inspires you every day. But I think Gen Z is choosing it. First of all, plumbing is not threatened by AI. It could add to AI. Speaker 1 (2:38) That's the thing. I have a friend who is a very successful accountant, and he told his son, go be a plumber, because he thinks he will make more money eventually. Well, it's lucrative for the right person. And the thing is, for me, I had to find, well, let's face it, you're working for an oil company, brushing and vacuuming oil boilers. Now, when I was a foot messenger, I would have to wipe the car exhaust out of my nostrils at the end of the day. At an oil company, cleaning burners, it's worse. You know, it's all over you. The thing that I found in it that helped me to excel, and I did, was that I like people and I like doing for people. I like, you know, there's a saying, you can't pay somebody to do a good job. You can pay somebody to do a job, but a good job is a gift. Speaker 1 (3:23) I liked to give that gift. You know, that made me feel good. Do you need formal training or certificate to become a plumber? You need to have a license in certain areas. So my initial experience was with HVAC, but I had customers that couldn't get a plumber. So because my HVAC customers couldn't find a plumber, I went and got licensed. What are the most typical repairs that you have to do? Drain clogs are fairly common. And then... Speaker 1 (3:53) along with blockages, maybe leaks here or there, you know, minor leaks. So you're in and out of a house within an hour or two. But this time of year, maybe freeze-ups will keep you in a house for three or four days, trying to find breaks and pipes and repair them. It's gotten a lot easier over the years because now we have press fittings, which is great. You can solder without having all the water out of the pipe.