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Let’s face it – plumbing may not seem like an especially glamorous profession. A lot of the time, it’s not. Plumbing involves all sorts of unpleasant labor. Then again, those who work in medicine also see their share of repellent sights. But those who spend their days drain cleaning instead of inspecting human anatomy pay much, much less in student loan bills. “Compare a plumber to going to Harvard College - being a plumber, actually, for the average person, probably would be a better deal,” former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg famously said on the radio, according to the New York Daily News. “You don’t spend ... four years spending $40,000 - $50,000 in tuition without earning income.” In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, things are looking up for the collective profession of plumbing. As of the most recent data published in 2012, plumbing was keeping almost 400,000 people in the U.S. employed. Meanwhile, the agency expects the field to grow by more than 20 percent during the next 18 years, which means the job market for plumbing is expanding a bit more rapidly than most. And instead of racking up $50,000 in debt, a professional plumber can make about that amount of money and more every year. There is also something to be said for the fact that, as Bloomberg pointed out, plumbers never have to worry about their jobs being shipped to another country, unlike many other types of skilled laborers. Better yet, some plumbers have the option of working for themselves. People who don’t like the idea of a boss lording over their shoulder all day, but do like the idea of the freedom provided by self-employment, may want to give plumbing a gander. Evidentially, plumbing could also be a good career option for those who are often described as a “people person.” “It means you can help friends out, and give people advice and all that,” Martin Toogood, a U.K.-based, 30-year veteran of the plumbing biz, told Go Think Big. “Plumbers are good friends or relatives to have.” It’s also doubtlessly nice to do work that helps your community and environment. But that’s not to say there aren’t potential downsides to being a plumber. There is no such thing as a perfect job, after all. The DOL notes that plumbers tend to incur more health problems than other professionals. Toogood also mentioned that it’s not one of those jobs that will ever pay you for an hour of sitting around. Plumbers have to complete their tasks in order to keep customers happy, to ensure repeat business. While many industries have continued down a path of increased digitalization during the last decade, it’s almost inconceivable that anyone will ever invent an app to make home repair obsolete. So for young people hoping for near-guaranteed job security, plumbing could be viable option.
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