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Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters vs Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters and Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$62,970
$49,140
Employment · BLS OEWS
455,940
29,050
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
20th pct
25th pct

At a glance

Dimension Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
Median pay $62,970 $49,140
Employment 455,940 29,050
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+4.5%) Growing fast (+7.6%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 44,000 2,900
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 20th pct Low · 25th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 18th pct · 15% of tasks 3rd pct · 10% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Mechanical, Mathematics, Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision, Customer and Personal Service, Critical Thinking, Deductive Reasoning, Manual Dexterity, Inductive Reasoning, Trunk Strength, Far Vision, Administration and Management, Troubleshooting, Repairing, Oral Comprehension, Visualization, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Public Safety and Security, Monitoring, Oral Expression, Selective Attention, Control Precision, Multilimb Coordination, Extent Flexibility, Coordination, Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Time Management, Flexibility of Closure.

Specific to Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

  • Building and Construction
  • Design
  • Finger Dexterity
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Category Flexibility
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Physics
  • Information Ordering

Specific to Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners

  • Transportation
  • English Language
  • Depth Perception
  • Reaction Time
  • Hearing Sensitivity
  • Static Strength
  • Active Listening
  • Equipment Maintenance

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Accounting software , Spreadsheet software , Word processing software .

Specific to Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters

Specific to Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters or Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters vs Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters-vs-septic-tank-servicers-and-sewer-pipe-cleaners

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters vs Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters-vs-septic-tank-servicers-and-sewer-pipe-cleaners

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters-vs-septic-tank-servicers-and-sewer-pipe-cleaners,
  title  = {Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters vs Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/plumbers-pipefitters-and-steamfitters-vs-septic-tank-servicers-and-sewer-pipe-cleaners}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.