If you are deciding to take a chance and become a certified plumber than you should be aware of what it takes to become certified before jumping in blindly. This is not something that you can take a few semesters at your local community college and be making loads of money the next year by running your own business.
In fact, if you are planning to jump in and start running a business right away, then you should look for something besides being a plumber. This is a career that requires a lot of time to become certified.
Each state has different requirements to become a certified plumber but the most common aspects are some kind of training course set in a classroom along with an apprenticeship. The classroom portion will require you to learn all the aspects of plumbing from reading blue prints, different regulations and plumbing codes, to applied physics and mathematics. There are other things that you will be required to learn in the classroom before you are eligible to take an apprenticeship with a working plumber to get your on the job type training.
The apprenticeship portion will last anywhere from 3 to 5 years depending on the state that you live in. The apprenticeship will teach you everyday aspects of the trade and allow you to get the hands on experience of working as a plumber.
Of course, when you first start out your apprenticeship, there is a good chance that you will be unclogging drains for the first year as the apprentice always gets the worst and most meaningless jobs in the beginning. But these jobs will get better once you have started to prove yourself and the plumber sees that you understand what is needed to move forward in this career.
After you have finished your apprenticeship, then you will be able to take your certification exams. These vary by state and some might include a clinical hands-on example of working with certain tools or aspects of the plumbing trade. Once you have taken your certification exams and passed you are on your way to becoming a professional plumber with your own business, or you can work as a licensed contractor with another company if you choose. Just be aware that it takes lots of time and work to get that far in the plumbing field.