service plumbing sucks!

I’ve had a lot of people tell me they could never be a plumber because they don’t want to deal with, well, poop. Most people, when they think of a plumber, they think of a residential service plumber. What if I told you I know people who have had decades long careers in plumbing and have never had to touch poop? It can be done. And some of those jobs can come with some other really great perks.

One of the first jobs I had was a remodel for a bank. They were adding additional floors to the building, so I got to be up on the 5th floor with an amazing view of downtown Dallas. On another job down in Austin, I would go up early in the morning and stand on the roof, watching the deer out across the field, and enjoying the peace before the day got going.

Another great thing about these jobs is I never had to worry about my tools. They went in a box at the end of the day, and were there waiting for me at the start of the next day. I didn’t have to worry about someone breaking into my truck, or transporting a bunch of stuff all around town.

One of the other things I loved was the food trucks. Those food trucks knew when the crews would be taking breaks, so sometimes we’d see them multiple times a day. There was one food truck that showed up every day at lunchtime that had the most amazing hamburgers.

Oh, and let’s not forget about bathroom facilities. Yeah, it may just be a Porta-Johnny, but that’s better than wondering when you’re going to get to a bathroom next, or where the closest gas station is. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

And the equipment you’re installing in these jobs is new. No used toilets. No surprises. Just good, clean equipment. If you’ve ever had to tear out and replace an old urinal, you’ll understand the benefits of having stuff that’s new.

In Texas, plumbers also install gas lines. And with the right endorsements, medical gas lines. Oxygen, nitrous oxide, vacuum, medical care; all kinds of different things. That’s about the cleanest of the clean work you can do.

There is also a lot of opportunity in plumbing. You don’t have to be that grunt worker your entire career. You can easily move into office work, possibly being  an estimator, manager, superintendent, quality control, etc. There are lots of ways to move up.

For a lot of people, this kind of plumbing sure beats driving around town trying to find your next job, dealing with the barking dogs, hoping you have the right tools on your truck to complete the job, then dealing with customers who don’t understand what it is you did, but are sure that you did it wrong and charged them way too much.

Now I’ve talked up the commercial and construction side of plumbing, but I actually prefer residential service plumbing. Yeah, sometimes you have to deal with the poop. But there are so many great benefits to doing a job right and doing it well. Service plumbers wear capes each and every day. We bring so much value to the people we serve. We are vital to the health of the nation. And if I’m being honest, you can make a lot of money while also making a difference.

If you think plumbing is just about the dirty jobs, think again. It’s a field with variety, opportunity, and some pretty cool perks. There’s a whole world of plumbing out there!