i am a female, i want to be a plumber.

but it is so hard for me to start.

the certificate III in tafe need me register as an aprrentice first ,then

i can go to study.

also it would take 3 or 4 years to finish it .

it is mission impossible for a career changer.

lilycat in Rockdale, Australia said: but it is so hard for me to start.

the certificate III in tafe need me register as an aprrentice first ,then

i can go to study.

also it would take 3 or 4 years to finish it .

it is mission impossible for a career changer.

it might seem so but it does pay off when you go from 10.00 hr to 25.00 a hr ive invested 26yrs and ive never been disapointed im now worth 35.00hr and 60.00 hr on side work its not a do it for alil while and change it a life time investment

but nobody wants to take me as apprientice

what should i do

don't you have the option of enrolling in a trade school that specializes in plumbing instead of going to tafe? i know in the US they have trade schools specifically to teach vocational skills.

if that's not possible, and you need to get an apprenticeship, then network! ask your plumber, get your friends plumbers' details - get in touch with as many plumbers that you can and put yourself out there, try and make contacts and show that you are enthusiastic about starting an apprenticeship. i know it's probably more difficult now given the current economic climate, but if you want this bad enough you will work hard at it.

not much use for you in australia, but for others who stumble upon this thread and want to know more about plumbing: www.top-colleges.com/blog/2009/04/06/everyone-needs-a-plumber/

lilycat in Rockdale, Australia said: but nobody wants to take me as apprientice

what should i do

in the usa we have the plumbers union where we can anywhere in the states and cananda and keep your status we can work from pre apprentice 1st year,2nd ,3rd ,4th,and 5th year apprentice then on your 6th year turn out as a journeyman

I know...I made a career change to plumbing. I was making 16 per hour in the office world, then went to be a plumber starting @ 11.00. Hard adjustment, but now I love it. Tood bad the market sucks soo bad right now.

lilycat in Rockdale, Australia said: but nobody wants to take me as apprientice

what should i do

You need to apply at the Union hall as an apprentice. The Union hall will place you with a company.

plmbr93 in Kenosha, Wisconsin said: You need to apply at the Union hall as an apprentice. The Union hall will place you with a company.

do not go union, unless you are willing to be weak and not stand on your own two feet. Show these plumbing companies you have back-bone and are willing to earn your career. Aurora Co.

I agree with staying away from the union. They have far more people on the bench than the non-union. I have heard all about the pension and all that. The problem is you need a paycheck now, not running out of unemployment.

Just curious did you go through the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union and did you make it through to Journeyman? My entire family is a member of this union but we have been fighting an uphill battle with Females in this work area. Please let me know if you also experienced the old mans club that we are going through.

jhn in South Jordan, Utah said: it might seem so but it does pay off when you go from 10.00 hr to 25.00 a hr ive invested 26yrs and ive never been disapointed im now worth 35.00hr and 60.00 hr on side work its not a do it for alil while and change it a life time investment

lilycat in Rockdale, Australia said: but it is so hard for me to start.

the certificate III in tafe need me register as an aprrentice first ,then

i can go to study.

also it would take 3 or 4 years to finish it .

it is mission impossible for a career changer.

I know it seems like it would be difficult but I am a female plumber in Indiana currently in my second year of my apprenticeship. Here you can find companies that are willing to sponsor you through a school specific to plumbing and you can go to school and work at the same time. Im currently making almost 14/hr and they are also paying for all my schooling. A lot of companies will hire you on as a "helper" first as kind of a trial period before they enroll you in school or send in for your apprentice license.

Plmbrchic in Columbus, Indiana said: I know it seems like it would be difficult but I am a female plumber in Indiana currently in my second year of my apprenticeship. Here you can find companies that are willing to sponsor you through a school specific to plumbing and you can go to school and work at the same time. Im currently making almost 14/hr and they are also paying for all my schooling. A lot of companies will hire you on as a "helper" first as kind of a trial period before they enroll you in school or send in for your apprentice license.

To all the females who want to be plumbers.
My sister became a plumber, I warned her not to get into the plumbing field because they do have favorites.
She got out not because she was a quitter,after ten years of putting up with discrimination. I know I know and she also knows after the school of hard knocks that no matter what type of legislation is out there that says "You cannot discriminate against Sex, religion, age", you cannot mandate anybody to do the right thing.
I suggested to her to take classes as a HVAC tech in a community college. There you will get the education, and there you will get a degree. Women have to work 150% harder than men and it really sucks. I told her to go work as a HVAC but non-union because in the big locals they will give the jobs to their buddies and relatives.
What our industry has failed is that their is no new construction going on, basically we are all "installers" so the jobs are no longer there. Our union has failed the members by not keeping up with need. Oha yeah we have "Green" classes" "OSHA 30" etc. But the focus is so wrong, we need maintenance agreements, we need real instruction to troubleshoot and there is not not much for Plumbing nor Steamfitting except for the Refineries, Big Whoop!

Plmbrchic in Columbus, Indiana said: I know it seems like it would be difficult but I am a female plumber in Indiana currently in my second year of my apprenticeship. Here you can find companies that are willing to sponsor you through a school specific to plumbing and you can go to school and work at the same time. Im currently making almost 14/hr and they are also paying for all my schooling. A lot of companies will hire you on as a "helper" first as kind of a trial period before they enroll you in school or send in for your apprentice license.

The areas of need are HVAC, learn electrical,learn controls in college, maintenance, you have a better chance of staying employed and learn about sheet metal, air transfer. Then as you get older you may be able to do Mechanical detailing with AutoCad.

In So Cal apprentices do not get medical coverage for three years, then when you do retire the medical coverage is a joke.
So whatever they try to sell you, is baloney, they have been bought and sold by the contractors. And many of the locals have been losing members because there are no jobs as a plumber but they continue to have the large amounts of Organizers.
Organizers are merely salemen who get paid by the members, they are appointed not voted for, they are appointed by their friends and relatives of DC-16. And even though we have fewer members yet they have kept the large amount of Organizers which pay over 100 thousand dollars a year.

Hey, I work for a theatre and film company, called the Company of Angels. We have just made a short film about female plumbers...check it out! (for free!) Let us know what you think.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyg8XTuRvZc

Company of Angels in Huddersfield, United Kingdom said: Hey, I work for a theatre and film company, called the Company of Angels. We have just made a short film about female plumbers...check it out! (for free!) Let us know what you think.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qyg8XTuRvZc

I love it!
It should be a standard for school,even in the States.