Do Plumbers Need A License? | Pro2Pro | This Old House
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- čas přidán 20. 03. 2019
- This Old House's Richard Trethewey and Ken Kogan of Suffolk Plumbing answer a question about young tradespeople, licensing and apprentices. Brought to you from Pro2Pro and HomeServe.
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Do Plumbers Need A License? | Pro2Pro | This Old House
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I just got my journeyman's license for plumbing last July here in Texas. I went thru a union apprenticeship program for five years. I have zero student loan debt. Insurance is half paid for by my employer. We have a 401 k and a pension as well as a death benefit to help with funeral costs. Best decision I ever made!
Yeah I shoulda been a tradesperson, I’ve taught myself just about everything there is to know about a house. What tradespeople charge can get quite pricey the the point gouging so I just learn it and do it myself. So far it has turned out great and I’m all the wiser.
Even though all plumbing should be done by a licensed plumber, home owners try to save money by doing it themselves, but when something goes wrong , they ended calling in the licensed plumbers. One plumber I know up here in New Brunswick, Canada, got his licesne work at the trade for a few years, then became an inspector for the city and got so frustrated with the bad plumbing he saw, that he went back to the trade again, just to fix non-plumber's mistakes.
I’m a Suffolk County plumber as well! Good video as always guys thx!
The biggest issue isnt that theres not enough people wanting to get into the trades, it's that the companies dont want to do the training. I took HVAC classes and got my apprenticeship, it took 2 years before someone hired me, only to find out I was being used as a work hand and wasnt actually being trained for a position. After bringing it up to a supervisor they said they'd look into it, the next day I was "laid off"
The problem with my generation is that guys don't want to work up the ladder. You are not OWED a position in a company because you got an apprenticeship, you WORK your way up! This way of thinking is what makes me not want to hire new guys.
When I started I was glad I HAD work. I did ANY kind of work that was asked of me, I didn't whine and moan to my "supervisor."
@@walterbrunswick I wasnt being trained at all. I went in thinking I was going to be taught how to do more than what was learned during the classes. I was literally being used as a work hand doing nothing more than running for tools and equipment and not even being allowed to watch as work was being done so I could learn. Not being allowed to talk with customers or anything. There were times I was forced to sit in the truck the whole time. I was treated like a nobody with nowhere to go. I had to deal with that for 2.5 months before I talked to a super. When I was looking for jobs everyone was looking for journeymen and lots of experience, not a single company was asking for apprenticeships. Even now, I see job offers for experience only.
@@N3M1515 Something funny about how you're describing your work there. In the beginning you are usually treated as a nobody, and yes, as a tool carrier! Get used to it? You are not being paid to watch work being done. Keep track of who needs what. Keep a broom and dustpan on hand and clean up instead of standing around like a dummy. Why should you have to talk to customers? You're the apprentice. You are not the boss.
@@walterbrunswick I guess you're just another bully... that's not how you keep people interested in a trade, that's how you push them out. Long gone are the days of being allowed to be pushed around, especially when your industry is hurting so much. As a mechanic I've trained 10 people in 3 years that are now running successful shops and I'm not even certified. I've done that by taking them under my wing from the start and teaching them while at the same time having them grab tools and clean. You can still have them do the dirty work while teaching them, doing anything else is being a bully.
I was at the very least trying my best to learn, only to have some scum push me away. You agreeing with that makes you no better.
@@N3M1515 Actually I'm the farthest thing from a bully, and I've taken my fair share of abuse. I just accepted it as part of being a grunt.
Good on you for teaching others. I try to do the same when I get a chance. But make no mistake, grunt work is almost an obligatory part of "starting out" in trades. Sorry if you happened to work for a scummy boss.
I have great respect for those in the skilled trades. They build the world and they maintain it. But, don't charge me too much. :-)
Ken seems like he knows a ton. I'd like to see more videos with him! Keep up the good work guys.
Real question is why it's so dang hard to get my first year apprenticeship started?
Four years of apprenticeship in Montana plus school to become an electrician. I believe it is the same for plumbing. The only three trades that have to be licensed in Montana are electricians, plumbers and crane operators.
Mike Rowe would be proud to hear this conversation. Well said and great advice for young people about to finish high school.
Yes they need younger generations that are good with their hands but the problem is there more kids who arent into getting their hands dirty whether or not they go to school or not. They arent expose to any type of work due to lack of a father figure or programs in their school stuff like that.
Almost half of kids are in single parent households now and it's usually the mom. I credit my dad to me becoming an engineer and knowing my way around common household repairs....and changing a spare tire. haha the standards have gotten even lower.
@@TheLouisianan yes that too i forgot to say that and the only thing on my mind was that but I never grew up with a dad and I learned and figured how to do stuff myself through tutorials and videos . I have been working in flooring for 4 years straight our of high-school because I wanted to
@@AdrianSntbnz My dad started out almost the exact same way. Single mom household and got a job as a helper installing cabinets when he was 17 in apartment buildings and went on to welding and then doing complicated weldments on hovercraft. Everyone starts somewhere.
Best thing I ever did was going to trade school to learn welding then becoming a journeyman pipe welder. This country really needs young skilled tradespersons.
Good to know.
I am a 27 year old subcontractor with zero student load debt I make $18 dollars and hour with a with insurance and soon a 401k my wife was able to quit her job and become a stay at home mom I strongly encourage anyone who love to work with their hands and a good challenge to get in to the trades I love what I do plus I get paid to do it
hey man quick question, i know it varies by state, but in CA it says i need 4 years of journey-man experience to be qualified to take a general contractor exam. I want the license, and i have worked kinda under the table for my friend's property management company, doing jobs much more than the $500 limit, including main drains, soldering, and bunch of things, like remodeling, flooring, etc, he just pays me via check processed from the property's LLC account. I've done this long enough to be more than 4 years, but i haven't actually been apprenticing or anything, just all self taught and I'm just as good as some professional, how can i prove that as a journey man experience? I have done a lot of under $500 jobs obviously, and have invoices to prove, can that be it?
$18 an hour and your wife stays at home with kids? Do you live in a trailer? It's great you love what you do, but $18 an hour isn't that much for a skilled trade.
@@9softail9 I was thinking the same. ESPECIALLY if you live in an expensive part of the country where minimum wage is 15.
No!!! murdock vs penn "no state shall convert a liberty (right) into a privilege, license it and attach a fee to it". But learning the trade under someone that is knowledgeable is priceless
What no one mentions is what happens to someone who gets disabled in a trade. GAME OVER.
One of the issues I see with many of the younger generation is they do not want to start from the ground floor, learn the job and work their way up. They feel that they already know how to do everything and should start at the top as soon as they are hired
I guess this is dependant slightly on the field you enter, but I agree that is also a big reason...why go through all the hassle of apprentice or journeyman for several years, when you can get hired right out of college into a desk job? Or even other technical skilled fields...it takes a decade to be a master plumber, but one can go into aviation and get their A&P certification in two years, be hired into well paying job by a large company. Not all trades are equal.
As someone born in '94 I have to agree. Most people my age think they have all the right answers because they were never told no. I still know some hard working people, but concepts like respecting your elders are fading fast. I learned the hard way and eventually realized after the thousandth "I told you so" from my parents that sometimes it's best to become a good follower before you can lead something.
It is more difficult to get a plumbing license now than it was 20 years ago when I got mine. Not sure if that is helping or hurting the trade and people wanting to be a master plumber.
Aaron Cottingham , you mean grand fathered down. Now we gotta put the time and take a test
@@Jg-lq6hs When I got mine it was 2 years or equivalent hours and state exam.
Another trade for non college is butcher or meat cutting. I worked from the bottom up to senior cutter and make great money.
A handyman can do everything a plumber can without dealing with joining a union or getting a plumber's license. However, the quality of their work and the experience will be much lower. So you get what you pay for.
In Wisconsin the apprenticeship program is a 5 year program with 500+ hours day school 260+ hours night school than you may write your journeyman exam, masters license requires 3 more years work experience than another exam. Journeyman license cost is $180 for 4 years, master license is $500 for 4 years with each license requiring 24 continuing education hours each licensing period.
is that good or bad?
@@natalieisagirlnow I would say good or bad depends on your viewpoint, a shorter apprenticeship would allow faster turnaround when licensing new people but may not provide equal training as a longer program. I found Richard's statement of MA regulations surprising as I assumed New England would have more restrictions than most.
Yep, that's bonkers length of time for the amount of money the average master plumber makes. I can understand self-employment at the end, but even still, those making high pay (equivalent to what is essentially a decade worth of training) are mostly outliers.
Another great saying is "shit happens when you don't have a licensed plumber".
You are also earning a decent wage while your training to be a plumber or any other trade. You'll be a journeyman plumber without a boat lot of student debt.
Kamloops Cruise I hate all that sebt.
I been plumbing for a longggggg time and done everything using my own experience that l been getting through time and working fir companies residential and commercial and thatvis more important then a piece of paper that says so. New gen dont want to do hard work so the plumbing trade should be easy to get in too not harder and complicated.
You're supposed to charge engineers more. They're usually the reason we're at their house to begin with.
As an engineer that went to a trade school I have to partly agree with you. Some people that did engineering were in it for the money and have 0 idea of what a poor design is (think of some cars where you need a 12" extension to reach a bolt).
Would help if unions were removed from the process. Many don't want to join a place where they will be bullied around and have to pay to be bullied around for that matter.
Everyone born in the 80's and beyond were told that college and a job in "tech" were the only pathways to success. Now they have a mountain of debt, and are shackled to their cubicle 60 hours a week eating handfuls of prozac to bout their depression. Meanwhile us "less educated" folks have zero student debt, make good money, generally only work 40-50 hours, and have rewarding careers - so no depression. Yes I work harder than some loser at a desk job, but it is 100% worth it.
The fact you call an office worker shows you're well educated. No job is better than another in by itself; the only losers are those that have rigged the system for their benefit. Workers are just trying to make a living doing what they can that's easily available.
My Dad told us that a person that could use his or her hands would be worth gold. He wanted me to be a electrician or plumber but I chose auto mechanics. Should have lessened to Dad.
The plumbers at Willingdon Church are considered the highest caste of people under Jesus Christ. Even higher than Priests, Pastors, Kings, and Princes.
Long Island has a union with an apprenticeship that’s the best plumber on Long Island
Can I replace my water heater in my house without a permit or license ?
Sylvain C, permits are required but if you can do it properly without getting caught, you’re good.
I ❤️ plumbing but these old dudes at my job are horrible teachers. Basically teaching myself, I learned a lot by watching. I only have 4 years experience as a plumbers helper but my work looks better than the masters. Nicely soldered and cleaned joints, clean pvc joints (no messy primer all over ). All my plumbing is properly pitched, plumbd or leveled. I can’t wait to make a name for myself when I get my own van and tools
AMEN.... Kids get off your damn skateboards, they aren't going to pay you anything. Get into a trade school. 👍
I want to be a plumber but i have a bad driving record
And? Why is that stopping you?
@@aaroncottingham4048 clean driving record requirement maybe its to drive service van
If you can get in with a big enough shop it may not be as big an issue.
Uber it bro
If you want it done right call a pro
Hi
Well.. no.. technically, I’m sure there are a lot of people that can accomplish plumbing with no license.. if a homeowner hires someone to do plumbing it’s kinda on them to make sure the person is capable.
Depends where you live. In NJ it is fraud to perform plumbing without a license. As the homeowner you can do your own but you cannot hire,an unlicensed person to perform plumbing. The person can receive a 60,000 dollar fine for first offence.
Alfred Vogl dang. I can can see the sense in it.. but, lots of capable people out there. But, hey.. it’s for our safety right?
I know a couple of successful unlicensed plumbers. They know the risks of working without license but the benefits outweigh the risks for them. They establish a solid rating on Yelp to help their business thrive.
So we saw the livestream, are you seriously gonna break up every single topic and re upload as a new vid?