Best programs to become a plumber in Massachusetts
1 Massachusetts school offers programs that train plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, graduating 10 people a year. The job pays a median of $93,880 in Massachusetts across about 13,460 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
You do not need a college degree to become a plumber. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Massachusetts is Plumbing Technology/Plumber (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
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.
1 program in Massachusetts that leads to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Massachusetts (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Massachusetts page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plumbing Technology/Plumbermain feeder CIP 46.0503In Massachusetts → | 10 | 100.0% | 1 | $35,730 | $9,500 |
Top 1 schools in Massachusetts
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 1 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southeastern Technical Institute South Easton, MA Public · 1 feeder program | 10 | Plumbing Technology/Plumber | — | 74% | — | 71% |
All 1 schools in Massachusetts
Every school in Massachusetts with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeastern Technical Institute | South Easton | Public | 10 | 1 |
Fields of study in Massachusetts that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters earn in Massachusetts
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $63,800. Massachusetts pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Massachusetts employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Massachusetts
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters page.
How to become a plumber
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Apprenticeship
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Massachusetts
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 46.0502Pipefitting/Pipefitter and Sprinkler Fitter
- 46.0503Plumbing Technology/Plumber
- 46.0599Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters programs in Massachusetts.
What degree do you need to become a plumber?+
You do not need a college degree to become a plumber. The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Massachusetts is Plumbing Technology/Plumber (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
Which college majors lead to becoming a plumber?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job in Massachusetts is Plumbing Technology/Plumber (IPEDS completions). In all, 1 feeder program graduates about 10 people a year in Massachusetts (IPEDS completions).
How much do plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters earn in Massachusetts?+
The median is $93,880 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 47.1% above the U.S. median of $63,800. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters growing?+
BLS projects a +4.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 44,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Massachusetts?+
1 institutions in Massachusetts reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Plumber, Installer, Pipefitter, Steamfitter, Solar Installer, Solar Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 47-2152.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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