How To Become A Plumbing Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a plumbing technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average plumbing technician salary is $59,049. The most common degree is a high school diploma degree with an business major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a plumbing technician. Plumbing technicians with a EPA Amusement Operators Safety Certification (EPA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 9,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePlumbing TechnicianUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $59,049

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.8

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.04%

Asian 1.86%

Black or African American 9.22%

Hispanic or Latino 20.89%

Unknown 4.21%

White 62.77%

Gender

female 2.49%

male 97.51%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a plumbing technician

Explore plumbing technician education requirements

Most common plumbing technician degrees

High School Diploma

46.3 %

Associate

19.3 %

Bachelor's

12.8 %

Start to develop specific plumbing technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Plumbing	31.90%
Hand Tools	6.83%
HVAC	6.68%
Work Ethic	6.00%
Customer Satisfaction	5.40%

Complete relevant plumbing technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New plumbing technicians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a plumbing technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real plumbing technician resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed plumbing technician usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed plumbing technician in most of states. 33 states require plumbing technicians to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	-	Certified Master Plumber
Maryland	Specific course required	State exam required	PLUMBER
Arkansas	-	State exam required	Journeyman Plumber
Colorado	-	State exam required	Journeyman Plumber
Connecticut	-	State exam required	Plumbing & Piping Unlimited Journeyperson

Research plumbing technician duties and responsibilities

Train and manage less experience plumbers and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Invoice customer for services render.
dig ups to expose pipes outside.
Perform brazing, soldering, pipefitting and welding.

Prepare your plumbing technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your plumbing technician resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a plumbing technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable plumbing technician resume templates

Build a professional plumbing technician resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your plumbing technician resume.