Kevinjm4
Member
I’m in the middle of switching into the plumbing industry. I am a welder with 10+ years experience and want to become a plumber to better support my family. I was wondering if anyone who knows about this can give me some advice and/or help me figure something out…
When you join the union near me, as a residential apprentice in year 2 for example the pay is roughly $30/hr while residential journeyman makes $39. Commercial apprentice year 2 is at $36 and journeyman $65. Those figures are not the total package with benefits and all, it’s just the hourly wage. My question is, parousing indeed job postings, the pay is substantially higher there usually. One place near me is hiring pl1 or pl2 127k-278k. Another place 150k-250k. While apprentice jobs on there are paying roughly equivalent to what the union pays. On the flipside the city of Seattle is hiring journeyman plumbers at $46/hr. Who would leave the union for a $20 pay cut?
Why do the journeyman plumbing positions pay double or triple what the union pays? Does it have to do with “commissions” (which I don’t understand how a plumber earns commission). Who would ever stay in the union after getting your license with those salaries available?
I’m currently deciding between residential and commercial. I enjoy residential plumbing diy stuff and don’t know anything about commercial. Road to residential journeyman about half as much time as commercial takes. But commercial seems like the obvious choice for someone like me looking to support a family, but again back to job postings, pl2 residential jobs paying $100k plus…
Also, anywhere in the country where cost of living isn’t so high, and getting into the union doesn’t take 1 or 2 years, as is the case in Seattle?. I’m open to moving my family if the cost of living is less than here and the plumbing demand is still strong.
Any advice greatly appreciated! Thank you.
When you join the union near me, as a residential apprentice in year 2 for example the pay is roughly $30/hr while residential journeyman makes $39. Commercial apprentice year 2 is at $36 and journeyman $65. Those figures are not the total package with benefits and all, it’s just the hourly wage. My question is, parousing indeed job postings, the pay is substantially higher there usually. One place near me is hiring pl1 or pl2 127k-278k. Another place 150k-250k. While apprentice jobs on there are paying roughly equivalent to what the union pays. On the flipside the city of Seattle is hiring journeyman plumbers at $46/hr. Who would leave the union for a $20 pay cut?
Why do the journeyman plumbing positions pay double or triple what the union pays? Does it have to do with “commissions” (which I don’t understand how a plumber earns commission). Who would ever stay in the union after getting your license with those salaries available?
I’m currently deciding between residential and commercial. I enjoy residential plumbing diy stuff and don’t know anything about commercial. Road to residential journeyman about half as much time as commercial takes. But commercial seems like the obvious choice for someone like me looking to support a family, but again back to job postings, pl2 residential jobs paying $100k plus…
Also, anywhere in the country where cost of living isn’t so high, and getting into the union doesn’t take 1 or 2 years, as is the case in Seattle?. I’m open to moving my family if the cost of living is less than here and the plumbing demand is still strong.
Any advice greatly appreciated! Thank you.
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