Construction and Extraction
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
Assemble, install, alter, and repair pipelines or pipe systems that carry water, steam, air, or other liquids or gases. May install heating and cooling equipment and mechanical control systems. Includes sprinkler fitters.
Also called: Drain Technician, Fire Sprinkler Service Technician, Pipe Welder, Pipefitter, Plumber, Plumbing Installer
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $96,760
- $46.52/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 9,200
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +6.5%
- 1,500 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- High school diploma or equivalent
- plus Apprenticeship
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $52,270 | $62,640 | $96,760 | $117,900 | $143,950 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Shut off steam, water, or other gases or liquids from pipe sections, using valve keys or wrenches.
- Install underground storm, sanitary, or water piping systems, extending piping as needed to connect fixtures and plumbing.
- Assemble pipe sections, tubing, or fittings, using couplings, clamps, screws, bolts, cement, plastic solvent, caulking, or soldering, brazing, or welding equipment.
- Locate and mark the position of pipe installations, connections, passage holes, or fixtures in structures, using measuring instruments such as rulers or levels.
- Cut, thread, or hammer pipes to specifications, using tools such as saws, cutting torches, pipe threaders, or pipe benders.
- Lay out full scale drawings of pipe systems, supports, or related equipment, according to blueprints.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Lower exposure14 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 12
- Language-model AIOE 13
- GPTs-are-GPTs 16
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for this job is lower, and AI tools are seen in little or no use in it today. AI tools may help with planning pipe layouts and measurements. Cutting, threading, joining, and installing pipe by hand, on site, is work they do not touch.
Likely to change
- Planning pipe layouts and measurements
- Reading specifications and marking positions
Still relies on people
- Cutting, bending, and joining pipe by hand
- Installing and repairing pipes in real buildings
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Next steps from here
Related jobs that build on what you already do.
Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Reading blueprints and checking alignment with levels builds on your layout skills. Boston pay is higher ($120,840), and entry is through an apprenticeship.
- Pay difference
- +$24,080 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +6.1%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Glaziers
Your skill with blueprints, measuring, and plumb and level checks carries over. Glaziers earn more in Boston ($107,610) and train through an apprenticeship.
- Pay difference
- +$10,850 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +4.9%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Brickmasons and Blockmasons
Marking layouts and measuring with levels are skills you already use. Pay is similar ($96,960), and the trade is learned through an apprenticeship.
- Pay difference
- +$200 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +5.3%
- To get started
- High school diploma or equivalent
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
Who employs plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on Boston construction projects
Hours worked on projects covered by the Boston Residents Jobs Policy over the last 24 months. This shows who has employed plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, not who has openings.
1,943,127 worker hours from Oct 20, 2024 to Oct 19, 2026 (trades: Plumber, Pipefitter, Sprinkler Fitter, Steamfitter).
- 18.2%
- of hours by boston residents
- 24.8%
- of hours by people of color
- 6.7%
- of hours by women
| Employer | Worker hours | Boston resident share | Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.C. Higgins Corp. | 321,090 | 9.2% | 8 |
| E.M. Duggan, Inc. | 288,827 | 20.9% | 21 |
| J. C. Cannistraro, LLC (RJP) | 208,324 | 19.9% | 23 |
| P.J. Dionne Company, Inc | 125,566 | 16.5% | 7 |
| American Plumbing & Heating Corporation | 89,110 | 20.2% | 5 |
| EFR Mechanical LLC | 81,340 | 23.7% | 14 |
| Cox Engineering Co. | 71,331 | 13.7% | 3 |
| Superior Plumbing, Inc. | 70,817 | 19.5% | 10 |
Related occupations
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- Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
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- Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door
- Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other
Talk to a career coach
A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.
Talk to a career coach