Plumbing is a fulfilling career. First off because you get to exercise knowledge and innovation by creating with your hands and second because it pays well. Most plumbers learn while on the job. Though you may be required to attend classes for a duration of time, most of the time you get on job training. Unlike other careers that require you to spend four years in class, spend lots of money on tuition fees and not earn anything in the process, you can actually earn enough to cater for your upkeep while on training.
Qualifications
Becoming a professional plumber is not just about picking a pipe cutter and getting on the job, it requires training. Technical colleges offer plumbing courses. It is advisable that one understands the UK building and water regulations act. This will guide them during practice. Plumbers are required to have a City and Guilds NVQ Level 2/3 and Technical Certificate.
Plumbing is a diverse career. Experienced plumbers move on to become consultants, designers, trainers and managers giving the plumbing industry a future. If you choose a career in plumbing and heating, you must be dedicated to a lifelong of learning. New technologies keep coming up and new tools are constantly patented; the pipe cutter you have now may become obsolete tomorrow as a better one gets released into the market. It takes a maximum of three years to reach level 3. Nonetheless, a passionate individual can take less than two years to get to the same level.

Salary
Plumbers earn a decent salary. With NVQ Level 3 and working full time, you can earn as much as £18,000 per annum. This will increase as your years of experience increase and you can earn between £25,000 and £35,000 per annum. On average, an average plumber earns £6.49 per hour.
A self-employed plumber earns between £30,000 and £40,000. However, their earnings are subject to taxes, parking fees and petrol among others. They will also be required to buy their own tools such as pipe wrench and pipe cutter among others. There is always a demand for highly qualified plumbers. To this end, a plumber will never be jobless. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of female plumbers. These are preferred by single mothers and the elderly but they can work pretty much everywhere.
Job Security and Future
At any one time, there are lots of plumbing jobs. Big cities like London have the highest number of jobs and tend to pay better than other cities. Nevertheless, taxes and other expenses are high here. New technologies are witnesses in the heating and plumbing industry and as long as a plumber keeps learning new things, they will always have a job to do. With increased education and knowledge, a plumber can enter into teaching, management or engineering.
Plumbers work hard for their money. It is not unusual for a plumber, especially one running their own business, to work more than 5 days a week. Plumbers will always be called for emergencies and for this reason, one must always be armed to work at unsociable hours.