Is Being a Plumber a Happy Job?

Plumbers are one of the least happy careers in the United States. At CareerExplorer, we conduct a continuous survey of millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. It turns out that plumbers rate their professional happiness 2.8 out of 5 stars, which places them in the lowest 18% of careers. So, is being a plumber a happy job?The answer is not as straightforward as it may seem.

On the one hand, plumbers enjoy relatively flexible working hours and don't have to worry about graduating with student loan debt since they don't need a college degree to become one. On the other hand, plumbers face numerous physical hazards, from deep cuts to serious burns and even death. Plus, the Office anticipates higher-than-average retirements among plumbers in the next decade. Plumbers install and repair pipes that supply water and gas to homes and businesses, and transport waste out of them. The need for plumbers is like the need for doctors: everyone everywhere will always need them.

In many regions, there is a severe shortage of qualified plumbers and this means that you will find more than enough work in this field. In fact, many plumbers get more jobs than they could possibly do and have to delegate some of this work to their colleagues. A day in the life of a plumber may include receiving midnight phone calls from a frantic customer with a broken pipe, or it may involve working for an architectural firm or on a construction site. Despite the health problems that a plumbing career can entail, many plumbers are quite happy with their working hours and hardly anyone in this field complains about this issue. Since you'll have weekends, free vacations, and you won't have to work a lot of overtime either, you'll have a pretty decent work-life balance as a plumber in general. In fact, many plumbers are very happy with the amount of time they have left to spend with their families. So, is being a plumber a happy job? It depends on your perspective.

If you're looking for an opportunity for growth and don't mind the physical hazards that come with it, then being a plumber can be quite rewarding. But if you're looking for something more stable and less risky, then you may want to look elsewhere.