Pipefitter and Steamfitter Apprentice Pay by Year

Apprentices earn less than fully trained plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters, but their pay increases as they learn to do more — and BLS publishes no apprentice wage of its own; its survey respondents generally classify apprentices within the broader occupation categories rather than separately.

BLS does separate an entry-level pipe-trade category of its own, though: the helper group, "Helpers — Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters" (SOC 47-3015).

Its wages are among the closest BLS proxies for entry-level pipe-trade pay — a proxy, not an apprentice rate:

Read the last row as the destination, not the starting point: BLS counts plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters as one combined group, its respondents generally classify apprentices inside those same occupation categories, and apprentices earn less than fully trained workers — so $63,800 is a trade-group median, not a wage any apprentice is promised.

The state-by-state version of this combined-group data is on our pipefitter salary page.

Both figures also leave out pay elements OEWS excludes: overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits, so a paycheck that carries any of those will not match the federal numbers line for line.

What federal law does set is the shape of the ladder.

Registered apprenticeship programs must pay a progressively increasing schedule of wages tied to the skill the apprentice has acquired, and the entry wage may not fall below the FLSA minimum wage where applicable — or below a higher floor another law or a collective bargaining agreement sets (29 CFR 29.5).

What federal law does not set is the percentages.

29 CFR 29.5 fixes no share of the journeyworker rate, so the actual step amounts live in each program's registered standards or the local collective bargaining agreement.

Programs can also be time-based (at least 2,000 on-the-job learning hours), competency-based, or a hybrid of both — and each program defines when a step lands.

Over a term, those steps add up.

BLS describes most plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters as learning through a 4- or 5-year apprenticeship with typically 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training a year, and the United Association says its apprenticeships — pipefitting and steamfitting included — typically last five years.

That means the document that matters to your wallet is the wage schedule from the program sponsor or the local joint apprenticeship committee you apply to.

Our research found no verified national UA apprentice pay schedule to quote, and federal rule fixes no percentages — so get the schedule for your own program in writing before you accept an offer.

The full legal mechanics, including what changes on federal prevailing-wage jobs, are on our pipefitter apprenticeship guide, and the application itself — aptitude test, interview, selection — is covered in how to become a pipefitter.

Travel changes the math too.

What a given out-of-town call pays away from home is a question for that call's agreement: our research verified no national per-diem figure to print, so treat travel pay as part of the deal to check, not a given.

How those arrangements work is its own topic — see per diem for pipefitters.

Steamfitter and sprinkler fitter apprentices climb the same kind of ladder.

The United Association counts steamfitting and sprinkler fitting among its apprenticeship tracks alongside pipefitting, plumbing, HVACR and welding, all typically five years — and UA apprenticeships are registered with the U.S. Department of Labor — so a "steamfitter apprentice salary" is set the same way: by the local's registered program standards and agreement, step by step.

What you will not find is a separate BLS wage for them.

BLS groups the titles into the single SOC 47-2152 — Steamfitter, Sprinkler Fitter, Gas Plumber and Industrial Gas Fitter are example titles inside the one combined group — and publishes no separate wage for plumbers only, pipefitters only or sprinkler fitters only.

A chart with its own "steamfitter" or "sprinkler fitter" column is therefore not quoting BLS.

Where the two pipe trades differ in the work, that is our pipefitter vs steamfitter comparison.

The federal outlook does say something about sprinkler fitters, if not about their pay: BLS expects sprinklerfitter employment to increase because building codes in all states require fire suppression systems, though it publishes no separate sprinklerfitter growth percentage.

For how the union side of the trade sets wages and fringes once you top out, see union pipefitter pay, and for the sprinkler branch specifically, the sprinkler fitter career guide.

Benefits are the layer of apprentice compensation the OEWS figures above never count: the series excludes benefits along with overtime pay and shift differentials.

Our research verified no typical apprentice benefits package to quote, so treat health coverage, retirement contributions and paid time off as questions to ask before you sign, not assumptions.

There is one benefit with published numbers for apprentices who are eligible veterans: the Post-9/11 GI Bill pays a housing allowance on top of apprentice wages during full-time apprenticeship or on-the-job training.

It steps down as the apprenticeship runs — 100% of the E-5-with-dependents BAH for months 1–6, 80% for months 7–12, 60% for months 13–18, 40% for months 19–24, and 20% after 24 months (38 U.S.C.

3313(g)(3)(B)) — and months with fewer than 120 training hours reduce it proportionally.

Career and pay information, not legal advice. Apprentice wage steps follow each registered program's standards and local agreements — confirm the current numbers, and the benefits summary that travels with them, with your program sponsor or local.