Careers / Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$42,360

United States, 2025

Employment

44,330

United States, 2025

Typical education

High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)

Job Zone 2

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

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.

O*NET code
47-3015.00
Job zone
2
Experience required
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years

Typical tasks

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

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$33,590
10th
$36,940
25th
$42,360
Median
$47,720
75th
$57,780
90th

10th percentile

$33,590

25th percentile

$36,940

75th percentile

$47,720

90th percentile

$57,780

Most important skills

  • Active Listening2.9
  • Critical Thinking2.9
  • Monitoring2.9
  • Judgment and Decision Making2.9
  • Coordination2.8
  • Complex Problem Solving2.6
  • Repairing2.6
  • Active Learning2.6
  • Speaking2.5
  • Social Perceptiveness2.5
  • Time Management2.5
  • Troubleshooting2.4

What skills do you need?

No skill ratings are recorded for this occupation in the current O*NET release.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
Seattle, WA$65,6002802025
Santa Maria, CA$63,210902025
WA$56,1406002025
New York, NY$52,0004,3602025
NY$52,0004,8402025
Urban Honolulu, HI$52,0001202025
HI$52,0001802025
Spokane, WA$51,9401002025
San Francisco, CA$51,3504302025
Phoenix, AZ$49,6603202025
ME$48,4102025
AZ$47,9904602025
Des Moines, IA$47,7102025
AK$47,2901002025
Anchorage, AK$47,290502025
CA$47,1302,5002025
Grand Rapids, MI$47,1002025
Nashville, TN$46,9903802025
Cincinnati, OH$46,9502902025
San Diego, CA$46,9402025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.