---
title: "Helpers--Pipelayer, Plumber, Pipefitter, and Steamfitter"
description: "Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-pipelayer-plumber-pipefitter-and-steamfitter"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Helpers--Pipelayer, Plumber, Pipefitter, and Steamfitter

**Category:** Construction and Extraction · **SOC code:** 47-3015 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 47-3015.00

Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include using, supplying, or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.

Also advertised as: Pipefitter Helper; Plumber Apprentice; Plumber Assistant; Plumber Helper; Plumbing Apprentice; Plumbing Helper; Plumbing Residential Apprentice.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $42,360 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $20.36/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $33,590 to $57,780, with the middle half between $36,940 and $47,720
- **Total US employment:** 44,330
- **Typical entry education:** High school
- **Preparation required:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +2.4% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 4,400 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 64/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 44,330 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $33,590 |
| 25th | $36,940 |
| 50th (median) | $42,360 |
| 75th | $47,720 |
| 90th | $57,780 |
| Mean (average) | $43,730 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WA | $56,140 | $52,461 | 600 |
| HI | $52,000 | $47,294 | 180 |
| NY | $52,000 | $48,183 | 4,840 |
| ME | $48,410 | $49,882 | Not published by BLS |
| AZ | $47,990 | $47,667 | 460 |
| AK | $47,290 | $46,200 | 100 |
| CA | $47,130 | $42,567 | 2,500 |
| MD | $46,170 | $43,989 | 970 |
| NH | $46,030 | $44,190 | 70 |
| OH | $45,760 | $49,324 | 1,090 |
| DC | $45,440 | $41,346 | Not published by BLS |
| WY | $45,250 | $48,818 | 40 |
| CO | $45,030 | $43,696 | 240 |
| OR | $44,800 | $43,343 | 210 |
| NE | $44,550 | $49,443 | 70 |

34 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 49 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-pipelayer-plumber-pipefitter-and-steamfitter/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/helpers-pipelayer-plumber-pipefitter-and-steamfitter.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 45,300 in the 2025–2035 base year to 46,400 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 1,100 jobs, or +2.4%. Slower than average: 2.4% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 4,400 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** High school diploma or equivalent (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Little or no preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Short-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 48.7% |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 26.8% |
| Master's Degree | 9.7% |
| Some College Courses | 9.2% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 5.6% |

## What the work involves

- Mount brackets and hangers on walls and ceilings to hold pipes, and set sleeves or inserts to provide support for pipes.
- Cut pipe and lift up to fitters.
- Measure, cut, thread and assemble new pipe, placing the assembled pipe in hangers or other supports.
- Clean shop, work area, and machines, using solvent and rags.
- Requisition tools and equipment, select type and size of pipe, and collect and transport materials and equipment to work site.
- Fit or assist in fitting valves, couplings, or assemblies to tanks, pumps, or systems, using hand tools.
- Perform rough-ins, repair and replace fixtures and water heaters, and locate, repair, or remove leaking or broken pipes.
- Disassemble and remove damaged or worn pipe.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Active Listening — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Reading Comprehension — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 2.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Repairing — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 2.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Equipment Selection — importance 2.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Building and Construction — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.7 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Manual Dexterity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Arm-Hand Steadiness — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Multilimb Coordination — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Trunk Strength — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.96 |
| C — Conventional | 3.66 |
| S — Social | 1.86 |
| I — Investigative | 1.37 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.25 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 84.0 |
| ISFJ | 75.2 |
| ESTJ | 72.2 |
| ISTP | 71.2 |
| ESTP | 59.2 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Plumber](https://nuecareer.com/careers/plumber) — median $63,800
- [Helpers--Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-installation-maintenance-and-repair-worker) — median $39,630
- [Helpers--Electrician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-electrician) — median $42,670
- [Helpers--Carpenter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-carpenter) — median $43,780
- [Helpers--Painter, Paperhanger, Plasterer, and Stucco Mason](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-painter-paperhanger-plasterer-and-stucco-mason) — median $40,470
- [Helpers--Brickmason, Blockmason, Stonemason, and Tile and Marble Setter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-brickmason-blockmason-stonemason-and-tile-and-marble-setter) — median $47,550
- [Boilermaker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/boilermaker) — median $76,410
- [Pipelayer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/pipelayer) — median $49,000
- [Helpers--Extraction Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-extraction-worker) — median $47,730
- [Helpers--Roofer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-roofer) — median $44,160

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

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