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Plumber resume example

A service manager or plumbing superintendent wants proof you can work alone and pass inspection: your license level and state, the code you plumb to (IPC or UPC), and the work you know cold, from drain service and water heaters to rough-in, gas piping and backflow testing.

Updated

Marcus Fennimore

Journeyman Plumber | Residential Service & Repipes | 2.1% callback rate across 1,100 calls

  • Denver, CO
  • marcus.fennimore@example.com
  • +1 (303) 555-0167
  • linkedin.com/in/your-name

Summary

Colorado-licensed journeyman plumber with ten years in residential service, repipes and light commercial work. Averages five calls a day, from main-line stoppages and slab leaks to tankless installs, with a 2.1% callback rate. Certified backflow tester who trains new hires on drain service.

Work Experience

Service Plumber (Journeyman)

Jun 2020 – Present

Front Range Pipe & Drain · Denver, CO

  • Ran 1,100 service calls over two years, from stoppages and leaks to tankless swaps, holding a 2.1% callback rate.
  • Repiped 34 homes from galvanized steel to PEX, averaging two days per house with no failed pressure tests.
  • Built a camera-inspection routine for drain calls that turned 22% of them into sewer repair jobs worth $410K in 2024.

Journeyman Plumber

Apr 2017 – May 2020

Bristlecone Mechanical · Aurora, CO

  • Roughed in and topped out plumbing for 180 apartment units, keeping the crew two units ahead of the master schedule.
  • Installed gas piping for 64 rooftop units and boilers, sizing lines from the fuel gas tables and passing every pressure test.
  • Tested and repaired 250 backflow assemblies a year for commercial customers, filing all reports with the water utility on time.

Plumbing Apprentice

May 2013 – Mar 2017

Kettle Peak Plumbing · Lakewood, CO

  • Logged 8,000 field hours under licensed plumbers on custom homes and remodels while completing four years of apprenticeship classes.
  • Set 300 fixtures and water heaters during finish phase, averaging under one punch-list return per home.

Education

Certificate of Completion, Plumbing (4-year apprenticeship)

2013 – 2017

State-Registered Plumbing Apprenticeship Program

Skills

Core competencies

  • Drain & Sewer Service
  • Water Heaters (Tank & Tankless)
  • Backflow Testing (ASSE 5110)

Plumbing Systems

  • PEX, Copper & Press Fittings
  • DWV Rough-In
  • Gas Piping & Sizing
  • Sewer Camera & Locator

Service & Customer

  • Flat-Rate Pricing
  • Repair Option Presentations
  • Apprentice Training

Certifications

  • Journeyman Plumber License · Colorado State Plumbing Board, 2017
  • ASSE 5110 Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester · ASSE International, 2018
  • OSHA 10-Hour Construction · OSHA Outreach Training Program, 2016

Languages

  • English · Native
  • Polish · Limited working proficiency

The full sample as text. Rendered in the Atlas template, a layout applicant tracking systems read in order.

Fictional person: the name and contact details are invented. Any resemblance to a real person is coincidental.

Plumber resume summary examples

Pick the one closest to your level and replace the specifics with your own.

  • Entry level

    Second-year plumbing apprentice with 3,900 hours on residential new construction, setting underground drain lines, roughing in PEX water systems and running gas piping to appliances. Reads isometrics and helps journeymen run water and air tests. State-registered apprentice, OSHA 10 trained, with my own hand tools. Looking for steady work with service exposure.

  • Mid level

    Licensed journeyman plumber with eight years split between service and remodel work in older homes. Runs 4 to 6 calls a day, diagnosing stoppages, failed water heaters and leaks inside walls, and writes flat-rate options customers understand. Certified backflow tester with a callback rate under 3% and reviews that mention me by name.

  • Senior

    Master plumber and plumbing superintendent with eighteen years on multifamily and commercial projects up to 240 units. Plans layouts from engineered drawings, orders material and runs crews of 10 across two sites. Keeps jobs on schedule from underground through trim with first-visit inspection passes above 95%. Holds medical gas installer certification.

  • Commercial service

    Commercial service plumber on a maintenance-contract route covering restaurants, schools and office buildings. Rebuilds flushometers, clears grease-line stoppages, services interceptors and replaces booster pumps, often after hours so tenants keep working. Holds backflow and medical gas cards and writes detailed tickets that property managers can forward to owners.

  • Returning to the trade

    Licensed journeyman plumber returning to field work after three years managing the pipe and fittings counter at a supply house. Kept the license active, studied the current code edition and still owns a full set of tools. Ready for service or remodel work and comfortable with PEX, copper and gas piping.

Plumber resume objective examples

An objective fits when you have no direct experience in the role yet. Name the role, the proof you already have and what you will bring to the team.

  • High school graduate

    Recent high school graduate with a trade-school plumbing fundamentals course, OSHA 10 and a valid driver's license. Applying for a first-year apprentice role that includes state registration and classroom hours, ready for early starts and crawl-space work.

  • Military veteran

    Army veteran with five years as a plumber maintaining field shower, latrine and water distribution systems. Applying for a commercial plumbing apprenticeship and asking the state board to credit my military hours toward the journeyman license.

Common mistakes on a plumber resume

  • Writing "fixed leaks and clogs" as your experience

    Fix: Every plumber fixes leaks. Show the harder calls: main-line stoppages cleared with a cable machine or jetter, slab leaks found with acoustic gear, tankless units descaled, whole-house repipes finished in two days. Add volume, such as calls per day or units roughed in per week.

  • Not naming pipe materials and joining methods

    Fix: A commercial superintendent wants to know whether you can sweat copper, solvent-weld PVC, crimp or expand PEX, press fittings and set no-hub cast iron. List only the materials and methods you have used on the job, plus pipe sizes on large storm or sanitary lines.

  • Forgetting the customer side of service work

    Fix: Service plumbing is a trust job as much as a technical one. If you presented repair options, wrote flat-rate tickets, earned reviews by name or kept callbacks low, say so with a number. Leaving it out hides half of what a service manager is hiring for.

  • Ignoring inspections and tests

    Fix: Plumbing is inspected at underground, rough-in and final, and every system gets a water, air or gas pressure test. Note your first-visit pass record, the tests you run and any job where you caught a cross-connection or venting problem before the inspector did.

What should a plumber resume include?

A plumber resume should open with a two or three line summary of your focus, then show each role as results rather than duties. Name the skills the posting asks for, such as Drain Cleaning, Hydro Jetting and Leak Detection. Start bullets with verbs like Plumbed, Diagnosed and Sweated, and give each one a number where you honestly have one. If you hold a credential such as State Journeyman Plumber License, list it in its own section.

Service and repair

  • Drain Cleaning
  • Hydro Jetting
  • Leak Detection
  • Fixture Repair
  • Water Heater Replacement
  • Flat-Rate Pricing

New construction

  • Underground
  • Rough-In
  • Top-Out
  • Trim-Out
  • Isometric Drawings
  • Pressure Testing

Piping systems and materials

  • Copper (Sweat & Press)
  • PEX
  • PVC / ABS DWV
  • Cast Iron (No-Hub)
  • Gas Piping
  • Storm & Sanitary Lines

Codes and compliance

  • International Plumbing Code (IPC)
  • Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC)
  • Fuel Gas Code
  • Backflow Prevention
  • Cross-Connection Control
  • Permits & Inspections

Licensing and safety

  • Journeyman Plumber
  • Master Plumber
  • Plumbing Apprentice
  • Medical Gas (ASSE 6010)
  • OSHA 10
  • Confined Space

Action verbs

  • Plumbed
  • Diagnosed
  • Sweated
  • Pressure-Tested
  • Jetted
  • Rerouted

Certifications

  • State Journeyman Plumber License
  • State Master Plumber License
  • ASSE 5110 Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester
  • ASSE 6010 Medical Gas Systems Installer

Match these against the job posting you are applying to: the free resume checker shows which keywords your resume is missing.

Skills to put on a plumber resume

List the hard skills the posting names in your skills section. Soft skills belong in your bullets, shown through something you did.

Hard skills

  • Drain, waste and vent sizing by fixture units
  • Water supply sizing and pressure-reducing valves
  • Gas line sizing and leak testing
  • Tankless water heater venting and descaling
  • Sump, sewage ejector and lift station pumps
  • Trenchless sewer repair (pipe bursting, lining)
  • Grease interceptor installation and service
  • Hydronic and boiler piping basics

Soft skills

  • Quoting a repair at the door and sticking to that price
  • Laying floor protection and cleaning up before the homeowner walks in
  • Calling the superintendent when framing blocks a drain route
  • Keeping a calm tone on a flooded-basement call at midnight

Plumber keywords recruiters scan for

Use the wording of the posting itself, and back each term with a line that proves it.

Journeyman plumber
Write the license name and state beside your name and in your summary's first sentence.
Service plumber
Give calls per day, callback rate and ticket types in your most recent service role.
Drain cleaning
Name the machines you run and the line sizes you clear.
Water heaters
Say whether you install tank, tankless or both, and mention venting and gas sizing.
Rough-in
Give unit or fixture counts and the building type in your construction bullets.
Backflow certification
List the card with its issuer and renewal date under certifications.
Gas piping
Point to a bullet where you sized and pressure-tested gas lines.
Sewer camera inspection
Mention camera and locator work and what you found.
Plumbing code
Name the IPC or UPC edition your area uses in the skills section.
Own tools
Add a credentials line saying you carry your own hand tools and hold a clean driving record.

Plumber resume bullet examples

The numbers are illustrative. Keep the structure (verb, action, measurable result) and use figures you can back up.

  • Cleared 520 main-line stoppages in a year with cable machines and a 4,000 PSI jetter, saving camera footage to every ticket.
  • Located and repaired 35 slab leaks with acoustic and thermal detection, rerouting lines overhead to avoid breaking floors in occupied homes.
  • Installed 160 tank and tankless water heaters, including venting, gas sizing and expansion tanks, with every unit passing mechanical inspection.
  • Roughed in DWV and water piping for 96 townhome units, keeping the crew one building ahead of framing for the whole schedule.
  • Set and trimmed out 420 fixtures in a medical office building, coordinating carrier locations with the drywall and tile trades.
  • Tested 300 commercial backflow assemblies a season and filed every report with the water utility before its due date.
  • Repiped 28 older homes from galvanized steel to PEX, finishing most in two days and leaving clean access holes for drywall patching.
  • Raised average service ticket value 18% by presenting good, better and best repair options with written flat-rate prices.

How to stand out as a plumber applicant

Tailor every application to the posting: the resume, the cover letter and the answers you prepare for the interview.

  • Mirror the shop's work, not just the job title

    A drain-and-sewer company and a mechanical contractor both post for a plumber, but they want different people. Pull the posting's equipment and work types into your summary, lead with the matching role, and swap in jetter and camera bullets or rough-in bullets as each posting needs. Tailor your resume to this plumbing shop

  • Start the letter with a call they run every week

    Open with a short, real example that fits their work, such as a slab leak found without tearing up a floor or a 90-unit rough-in finished on schedule. Then give your license, the neighborhoods or towns you know and whether you can take on-call rotations. Draft a plumber cover letter

  • Rehearse service scenarios and code questions

    Interviewers often ask how you diagnose a slow drain, size a vent or explain a costly repair to an upset customer. Some shops run a ride-along or a hands-on test, such as sweating a joint or reading a sketch. Practice walking through one hard call from arrival to cleanup in under two minutes. Prepare for plumber interview questions

  • Put license, cards and driving record on one line

    Service plumbers drive company vans and carry cards that expire, so managers check both early. Under your name, list license level and state, backflow or medical gas cards with expiration months, and a clean driving record. Keep license numbers off the page, since employers verify them on the board's site. Check your plumber resume for missing credentials

Plumber resume questions

Should a residential plumber license be listed differently from a journeyman license?

Yes. Some states, Colorado among them, issue a residential plumber license that is narrower than a journeyman license, and commercial employers need to know which you hold. Write the exact license name, the state and the status. Working toward the next level? Add hours logged and your exam date.

How do I describe service work versus new construction?

Treat them as two different jobs. Service plumbers are judged on calls per day, diagnosis, clear pricing at the door and callbacks. New construction plumbers are judged on rough-in speed, reading isometric drawings and passing pressure tests. If you have done both, lead with the one the posting describes.

Do I need to mention which plumbing code I work under?

It helps. Many states and cities adopt the International Plumbing Code, others use the Uniform Plumbing Code, and some add heavy local amendments. Naming the code and edition you know tells an employer you can size drains, vents and water lines locally without a learning curve.

Are backflow and medical gas cards worth listing?

Yes, both open doors. A backflow tester card lets a company send you on annual test routes for commercial customers, which many water utilities require. ASSE 6010 medical gas training is commonly required for hospital and surgery-center piping. List each card with its issuer and expiration date, since both need renewal.

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