If you are looking to become a plumber but you don’t have the money or the time to put into taking college courses, then you might want to try to get an apprenticeship. Becoming an apprentice is a difficult aspect in its own right, but if you do get picked, then you will be earning money while you are training and that is always a bonus.
If you are still in high school, you can talk to your career counselor to see what course you can take that will make becoming an apprentice even easier once you are out of school.
Plumbing Apprenticeships
If you have already graduated high school and you still want to become an apprentice plumber, then the first thing you will need to do is find a plumber that is actually looking for apprentices. In small towns, this might be rather difficult, but in larger cities, there should be plenty of professional plumbers looking for apprentices. You will need to ask these plumbers what qualifications you will need in order to become an apprentice. These qualifications will be different depending on the city and state that you are in and what the plumber might require in an apprentice as well.
You should have a high school diploma or GED at the very least. If you have taken some vocational training that would benefit a plumber, then you are already one step above all the others that are trying to become an apprentice as well. Professional plumbers will always choose the people with the most training and put them at the top of their list, which means you should have some kind of training with some aspects of plumbing, even if it is just common knowledge of tools and basic math.
The apprenticeship program will last for 4 or 5 years before you are qualified to take the certification exam. This is dependent on the state that you currently reside in and can change, so you should keep up with information regarding your exams.
If you do get an apprenticeship with a plumber, you should make sure that you are always available to work, plumbing emergencies happen at all hours of the day and night. This will show your employer that you are more than willing to do what it takes to become a certified plumber.