Plumbing Trade School Pathway

Plumbing Career Path with High School Diploma

Plumbers install and repair piping fixtures and systems in residential and commercial properties. If you’re considering a career as a plumber after graduating high school, our Plumber Career Pathway classes can help you learn plumbing basics while earning your high school diploma online. You’ll complete your online high school core classes, like English, science, and math. Then you will start our Plumbing trade school curriculum and take five elective classes that cover foundational plumbing skills., then you’ll take five elective classes that cover foundational plumbing skills. Your career-focused electives may be transferable to our online Plumber Career Diploma, giving you a head start on your training.

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

AVG SALARY*

$56,330/yr

NUMBER OF JOBS

490,200

JOB GROWTH*

16%

State Licensing

Licensing and/or certification requirements for jobs are not the same in every state and may include educational, testing, and/or experiential requirements beyond those offered in the Penn Foster Program. Prospective students should contact the state professional licensing board or similar regulatory body in the state(s) where they plan to work to determine their requirements before enrolling in this Program. Click here for contact information for state licensing/regulatory boards and certain industry licensing information.

Cost of Program

$949

$1,315 Save $366

$50/month, Start for as low as $1

Enroll Now Request Info

800-275-4410 (9AM - 9PM EST)

Courses

General High School Courses

Orientation

In this course you’ll develop the necessary skills to ensure your success in the program. This course also teaches you how to stay successful, ensuring you complete your studies and start preparing for a successful career.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Understand how to use your Student Portal.
- Access the Penn Foster Community and use it to find answers.
- Connect with Penn Foster on various social media sites.
- Examine methods that will allow you to obtain greater financial independence
- Describe how to build stronger personal and professional relationships
- Identify career options and career resources
- Effectively use a computer and critical computer programs

Humanities

This course provides tips and techniques to make you a better reader.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Interpret a text by previewing and scanning
- Identify central ideas in writing
- Interpret works of fiction and poetry
This course will enhance your interpersonal skills and lead to success in your future career or post-secondary schooling.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe how to build and maintain positive relationships.
- Explain how a positive attitude affects human relations.
- Discuss how to work with supervisors.
- Explain the productivity equation.
- Describe the relationship between frustration and aggression.
- Describe how to avoid being late or absent.
- Discuss how to identify and repair injured relationships.

English

This course will help you improve your English skills so you can effectively communicate in your personal life, in the remainder of your studies, and in your career.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe the four steps in the writing process.
- Define, describe, and provide examples of the different parts of speech.
- Identify the principal parts of verbs and verb tenses for both regular and irregular verbs.
- Discuss the difference between an adjective and an adverb.
- Identify prepositional phrases and the objects of prepositions.
- Explain the difference between coordinating, correlative, and subordinating conjunctions.
- Explain the main components of complete sentences.
- Identify and correct sentence fragments and run-on sentences.
- Provide agreement between subjects and verbs.
- Explain the proper use of the different parts of speech.
This course will enhance your language skills by expanding your vocabulary, mastering word usage, and strengthening your writing.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Explain why language is important and describe how communication skills can affect your life.
- Explain how the eight parts of speech are organized to communicate meaning in phrases, clauses, and sentences.
- Apply your language skills in conversation, vocabulary, word choice, spelling, pronunciation, and writing.
- Use modifiers, prepositional phrases, and conjunctions correctly.
- Correctly use apostrophes, hyphens, and periods.
- Recognize and use the various elements of sentence structure.
- Correct common writing mistakes.
- Write sentences that have effective beginnings, concise wording, parallel structure, and active voice.
- Create a unified, coherent composition with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
- Write effective, appropriate, business letters, friendly letters, courtesy letters, formal invitations, a letter of application for a job, and a resume with a cover letter.
This course will refresh your understanding of the basic parts of speech and will focus on the importance of organizing your time effectively to create a document from the first draft stage to the final draft stage.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Recognize and use both formal and informal English for letter writing.
- Begin to write an essay.
- Organize your writing time effectively.
- Plan a writing project from beginning to end.
- Locate books using the card catalog and on-line catalog at the library.
- Use your own experience, that of others, and library research to provide material for writing projects.
- Organize your ideas effectively in an outline.
- Write your ideas in detail, following a logical order and sticking to your subject.
- Express your thoughts and feelings more easily, more accurately.
This course will allow you to experience literature actively and become involved both intellectually and emotionally.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Read more effectively—for both knowledge and enjoyment.
- Use new vocabulary to discuss, write about, and understand literature.
- Explain the characteristics of the different genres, including the short story, novel, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and essay.
- Discuss works by writers such as Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, London, Twain, and Thoreau.
- Analyze novels, short stories, poems, dramas, and other types of writing.
- Understand and explain the objectives and accomplishments of the various writers.
- Seek, find, and enjoy many additional examples of fine writing.
- Identify various literary figures.
Textbooks:
- Great American Short Stories
- The Call of the Wild
- Great Short Poems
- Songs for the Open Road: Poems of Travel & Adventure
- Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
- Great Speeches by Native Americans
- Narrative of Sojourner Truth
- A Midsummer Night's Dream

Math

This course will provide a solid foundation so you are able to successfully use mathematics in your course, life, and career.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Solve real-world problems involving whole numbers
- Solve real-world problems involving fractions
- Solve real-world problems involving decimals
- Compare the English and metric systems of measurement
- Explain ratios, proportions, and percents
This course will allow you to apply your math knowledge to areas of your everyday life.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Estimate results quickly.
- Accurately figure the amount of money involved when discounts are stated in percents.
- Make smart consumer decisions.
- Calculate yearly interest rates.
- Understand the importance of a budget and how to prepare one.
- List the factors to consider before buying a new or used car.
- Discuss the options available regarding your personal insurance.
- Determine when you’ve saved enough money to start investing.
- Explain the difference between common stock and preferred stock.
- Explain why it’s important for you to plan for your retirement.
This course will review the four mathematical operations so you are able to use them at an advanced level.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Use the rules of the order of operations to solve multistep problems.
- Solve word problems using equations.
- Use the four basic operations with positive and negative numbers.
- Give examples of monomials and polynomials.
- Simplify polynomials by combining like monomials.
- Simplify and solve one-step and multistep equations.
- Identify and name various components of geometry.
- Identify different types of quadrilaterals and triangles.
- Calculate the area of squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles using appropriate formulas.
- Apply the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of a missing side in a right triangle.
- Compute the volume of cubes, cylinders, and rectangular solids using the correct formulas.
- Solve equations using the principles of geometry.

Science

The course covers topics in geology, oceanography, meteorology, environmental science, and astronomy.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Explain the basic principles and methods of Earth Science
- Discuss the various surface processes on Earth
- Identify features of Earth's atmosphere and oceans
- Explain the causes of geologic activity
- Describe the impact of human activity on natural resources
- Explain the formation and properties of the solar system and universe
In this course you’ll gain insight into the origin of life, the relationships among all living organisms, and discover how your own body works.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe the characteristics, chemistry, and ecology of living things
- Analyze cells and their processes for obtaining energy and reproducing
- Explain how traits are passed on from one generation to the next
- Explain how different species of living things have evolved and are classified
- Identify the characteristics and behavior of plants and animals
- Describe the anatomy and physiology of the human body
This course covers a variety of topics in modern science that affect everyday life, from energy and heat to sound and electricity.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Explain how objects move when forces are applied
- Describe the effects of heat energy on matter
- Analyze waves and radiation
- Apply the principles of chemistry
- Determine what scientific principles apply to electricity and electronics

Social Studies

This course focuses on US history from the earliest human settlers in North America thousands of years ago to the modern-day. You’ll learn the story of the native people who lived in this region long before Europeans came to create colonies. Follow the colonists as they faced the unknown and attempted to make new lives for themselves in North America. Finally, you’ll experience the birth and growth of the United States, a young nation that has managed to pack a wealth of world-changing events into its short history.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe settlement of the colonies in America
- Identify events from the American Revolution to the ratification of the United States Constitution
- Recognize expansion and industrialization in the United States during the early 18th century
- Describe the causes and lasting effects of the American Civil War
- Analyze how the events leading up to World War I shaped the United States
- Discuss the effects of the Great Depression and World War II on the United States
- Recognize changes in America from the 1960s through today
This course covers what the basic purposes of government are and how modern governments differ from one another.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Describe the different types of government and give examples of each.
- Summarize the process used to ratify the Constitution.
- Describe the three main parts of the Constitution and explain what each part includes.
- Describe the process for amending the Constitution.
- Describe the powers and responsibilities of the three branches of the federal government.
- Outline the process by which laws are made.
- Summarize some of the landmark cases handled by the Supreme Court.
- Briefly describe the ways in which state and local governments operate.
- Explain the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic nation.
- Summarize the process for electing a president of the United States.
This course will provide a broad survey of the history of the world, from the earliest humans who emerged from Africa to the modern peoples and nations that exist today. You’ll study how people adapted to live in different environments, developed tools and technology, created political institutions to govern, and spread ideas as they interacted with one another. By following the stories of different peoples and cultures through time, you’ll observe how key developments and events that took place over thousands of years have shaped the world today.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Recognize features and achievements of ancient civilizations, and Europe during the Renaissance and Age of Exploration
- Compare society and politics of world regions during the period of 1500-1800
- Explain causes of revolution, impacts of industrialization on society, and factors leading to development of global empires during the period of 1750-1914
- Describe how the Great War, Great Depression, and nationalism affected world regions
- Describe how World War II, the Cold War, and economic globalization affected world regions

Health & Physical Education

In this course you’ll learn the key components of nutrition, cardiorespiratory exercise, safety issues, and stress management techniques.

By the end of this course, you'll be able to:
- Explain the relationship between calories and energy.
- Explain how carbohydrates, fats, and proteins fit into a healthy eating plan.
- Select healthy ingredients and preparation methods.
- Analyze food labels, recipes, and menus for total calories, fat, protein, carbohydrate, sodium, and fiber content.
- List the advantages of cardiorespiratory fitness.
- Recognize symptoms of common injuries and identify how to prevent them.
- Explain the different types of stress and how they impact the body.
- Recognize physical and psychological symptoms of stress.
- Identify stress reduction techniques and common stressors of daily life.
- Explain how fitness benefits your physical and mental well-being.

Technology Requirements - As you know this is an online academic program. This means you will need access to high-speed internet to begin your program. In addition, you will need access to a Microsoft® Windows® based computer running Windows 10® or later or an Apple® Mac® computer running macOS® Sierra Version 11.2 or later, access to a word processing program to complete written assignments, and an email account to complete this program with Penn Foster.

Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

Apple, Mac, and macOS are trademarks of Apple, Inc. registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions.

Related Career Pathways

Electrical

Carpentry

Automotive

FAQ Questions

How long does it take to become a plumber?

Depending on your experience and education, it doesn’t necessarily take years to become a plumber! Most plumbers need to have a high school diploma or equivalent, as well as some training on the job and through a technical school program. With Penn Foster’s Plumber High School Career Pathway, you can get a head start on learning plumbing basics while you finish your high school diploma. Then, your classes can transfer to our online Plumber Career Diploma Program, which you can complete in as little as 8-12 months.

What qualifications do you need to be a plumber?

Plumbers need some education in the field and on-the-job training. Additionally, many states may require you to be licensed to work as a plumber.

How do I get experience to become a plumber?

Most plumbers will gain experience on the job or in an apprenticeship. Working under skilled, licensed plumbers, you’ll apply what you learned in school to real-world situations.

Does plumbing require math?

Yes, plumbing requires some basic math knowledge. Plumbers use several forms of math daily, from estimating the cost of a job to calculating pipe measurements.

Need more info or ready to enroll?

We're here to help. Call 800-275-4410 9AM - 9PM EST

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Sources:

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. "Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters." Occupational Outlook Handbook. Accessed June 16, 2021

Statements found in the United States Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook are not a guarantee of any post-graduation salary, in part because the data used to create the Occupational Outlook Handbook includes workers from differing educational backgrounds, levels of experience, and geographic areas of the country.