Career
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
Install and repair the pipes buildings run on.
$63,800
Median pay
+6.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
42,000
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Shut off steam, water, or other gases or liquids from pipe sections, using valve keys or wrenches.
- Install underground storm, sanitary, or water piping systems, extending piping as needed to connect fixtures and plumbing.
- Assemble pipe sections, tubing, or fittings, using couplings, clamps, screws, bolts, cement, plastic solvent, caulking, or soldering, brazing, or welding equipment.
- Locate and mark the position of pipe installations, connections, passage holes, or fixtures in structures, using measuring instruments such as rulers or levels.
- Cut, thread, or hammer pipes to specifications, using tools such as saws, cutting torches, pipe threaders, or pipe benders.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Shut off steam, water, or other gases or liquids from pipe sections, using valve keys or wrenches.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Repairing, Troubleshooting.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though apprenticeship is typical, for a median of $63,800 a year and 42,000 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Pipefitting/Pipefitter and Sprinkler FitterCIP 46.0502
- Plumbing Technology/PlumberCIP 46.0503
- Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services, OtherCIP 46.0599
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$42,360 · +2.4%
- Boilermakers$76,410 · -1.8%
- Pipelayers$49,000 · -3.1%
- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General$49,590 · +4.2%
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners$49,880 · +7.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.