Drain technician vs plumber

The differences between drain technicians and plumbers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a drain technician and a plumber. Additionally, a drain technician has an average salary of $59,122, which is higher than the $55,337 average annual salary of a plumber.

The top three skills for a drain technician include plumbing, sewer lines and CDL. The most important skills for a plumber are plumbing, hand tools, and plumbers.

Drain technician vs plumber overview

	Drain Technician	Plumber
Yearly salary	$59,122	$55,337
Hourly rate	$28.42	$26.60
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	25,624	12,307
Job satisfaction	-	4.4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 53%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Drain technician vs plumber salary

Drain technicians and plumbers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Drain Technician	Plumber
Average salary	$59,122	$55,337
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $89,000	Between $36,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	California	Oregon
Best paying company	American Residential Services	Kern Community College District
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between drain technician and plumber education

There are a few differences between a drain technician and a plumber in terms of educational background:

	Drain Technician	Plumber
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 53%
Most common major	General Studies	Business
Most common college	-	-

Drain technician vs plumber demographics

Here are the differences between drain technicians' and plumbers' demographics:

	Drain Technician	Plumber
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 100.0% Female, 0.0%	Male, 96.5% Female, 3.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 1.9% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	2%	2%

Differences between drain technician and plumber duties and responsibilities

Drain technician example responsibilities.

Used various equipment and tools to unclog drains, camera pipes, install urinals and toilets.
Inspect manholes to locate sewer line stoppages.
Perform trench work, laying pipe, building underground manholes.
Assemble many pieces for custom bags and cushions utilizing good body mechanics.
Install pvc pipe, copper lines and flexible hose for residential water systems.
Remove and replace broken tile section or pipe, using caulking compound and cement to form watertight joint.

Plumber example responsibilities.

Train and manage less experience plumbers and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Replace old copper and cast iron plumbing, install PEX water lines, CPVC lines and PVC lines.
Learned how to read blueprints, use plumbing math and read sub/spec data.
Assemble pipe sections, tubing, or fittings, using various techniques, including caulking, soldering, and brazing.
Install, repair and maintain plumbing systems and components including toilets, urinals, faucets, hose bibs drains, etc.
Dig trenches for new pipeline.

Drain technician vs plumber skills

Common drain technician skills

Plumbing, 52%
Sewer Lines, 11%
CDL, 9%
Commercial Buildings, 7%
Customer Service, 4%
Water Heaters, 2%

Common plumber skills

Plumbing, 23%
Hand Tools, 7%
Plumbers, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Cast Iron, 4%
Pipe Systems, 4%