Flooded basements. Busted/Frozen pipes. Clogged drains after Thanksgiving. All situations where we remind ourselves why having a skilled plumber around is a godsend. But guess what? There’s a significant shortage of skilled and qualified plumbers in the US.
Before getting into that, here’s a quick overview of what plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters typically do:
- Prepare cost estimates for clients
- Read blueprints and follow state and local building codes
- Determine the material and equipment needed for a job
- Install pipes and fixtures
- Inspect and test installed pipe systems and pipelines
- Troubleshoot malfunctioning systems
- Repair and replace worn parts
Highly experienced ‘Master’ plumbers are additionally involved with developing blueprints that show the placement of all the pipes and fixtures, ensure that a structure’s plumbing meets building codes, stays within budget, and works well with the location of other features, such as electric wires.
Why is there a high demand for plumbers?
Not only is there no God, But try finding a plumber on Sunday – Woody Allen
Aging Workforce – The regular plumber you call when there is a situation will be retiring shortly. That goes for most currently experienced plumbers in the industry.
Social Stigma – Although there are a high demand and employment opportunities, parents seem hesitant to let their children sign up for blue collar jobs as a career choice, as compared to going to a university.
Career Choice – Electricians and plumbers require state certification after completion of a five-year apprenticeship, leaving most high school students wondering about the cost-benefits stats for this industry. Ergo, very few skilled tradesmen are graduating each year due to to the lack of knowledge of opportunities in terms of career and compensation available to them.
Employment Opportunities for Plumbers – Data from BLS & Payscale
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there should be a hiring spurt of 16% for plumbers by the year 2026, which translates to over 49,100 new jobs.
Plumber Hourly Earnings – Payscale data
Market Trends & Gap – Data from Google Trends
The above data is from Google Trends with the search query “plumber near me” over the last 5 years. Feel free to cross verify this data or add your own filters here
The data does not lie folks. There is a market gap and a clear demand for plumbers that is continuing to rise all the way through 2018 also.People are searching for them daily and locations like New York, L.A, Houston, Chicago and Dallas are hotspots for setting up plumbing businesses.
You might wonder “what about the current lack of available plumbers?”
Well, social stigma is fast changing due to this demand. Influential people like Mike Rowe – Host of the tv show “Dirty Jobs” – has been funding and providing apprenticeship programs for plumbers across the country all the way since 2008 and funding more than $3Mil in scholarship programs for skilled trades. There are tons of job opportunities and all it takes is a little bit of ambition to make it big in this industry.
Just watch Dave’s inspirational story on how he chose to get into the plumbing business as a career path and now makes more money than most of his college graduate friends.
Smart entrepreneurs and blue-collar businesses would capitalize on this by making an on-demand plumber for hire/handyman services mobile app in prime locations where demand is high. Plumbers looking for jobs are connected with customers looking for on-demand plumbing services via app.
Now if you combine the high demand in the market for plumbers, well-paying job opportunities available, steady employment growth over the next 10 years and an Uber-like app tailored for plumbers or a blue-collar business.You get a steady and profitable business model to make money off.
To Sum Up The Flow So Far –
Are you a plumber looking to make it big in an industry you specialize in? Or own a plumbing/pipefitting/handyman services business that you want to scale?
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