1plumb4uall

In Jan 2009 The stae of Iowa took over Plumbing and Mechanical licensing. Before that we had to have journeyman and master licenses in every city including contractors licenses and bonds in every city. Sounds good right? Well applying for your state licenses wich had to be done before jan 2010 there was a few options, 1- you could apply by showing the tests that you have passed in each trade, including proving that you have taken a re-education class for each trade, including all copies and dates etc, Or 2- you could qualify for a license in each trade Plumbing, HVAC, Ref, Hydronics either Journeyman or master licenses if you could prove that you had 5 years experience in such trade! Yup all unlicensed contractors could recieve their licenses with out any tests as long as they paid for the licenses.
The way it use worke here we tested in our largest city Des Moines and then most other cities reciprocated our Des Moines licenses. Now this work experience option expired Jan 2010. IT WAS A SLAP IN THE FACE TO ALL OF US who worked our butts off and then studied and took out exams and hey I had to take one of them twice.

TheMaster

Doesn't bother me that much. Just because a guy has a license doesn't mean he can plumb,it just gives him the right to plumb. Plenty of people with a license who dont know shiot or are such a social misfit that they cant get along with anyone long enough to keep a job or work for the public. What I'm trying to say is getting a license has always been the easy part of plumbing.

Flyin Brian

I disagree on the part where you say that obtaining a plumbing license is the easy part of plumbing,but that's just my own opinion.

b.t.w. how'a kitty?

TheMaster

Ok cool we can disagree to disagree It was easy for me personally. I took the test when I was 18(I may have been 17) and had never picked up a code book and made a 64.....70 was passing. I took it because it was in the city as our test travels around the state every 3 months and wanted to see what the test was like...I was a kid. I waited 6 months and took it again after getting a codebook and really opening it. I scored in the high 80's. On my masters test I blew it out the water and scored in the top 1% of people who had ever taken the test at that time. Scored almost perfect. Thats why I say its easy...and the fact that I know some real live idiots with plumbing license.
Thanks for asking about kitty! Shes doin great!

ROCKSTARPLUMBER

I agree that getting the License is the easy part. Being successful, well, that takes what I call hard "work".

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Flyin Brian

I see where your comeing from i just never look at anything as being "easy".

Plumbus

Whether the test was easy or hard is now irrelevant with entry into the contracting end of the trade now being almost automatic. Increased competition, especially from people who don't know how to run a business, is definitely not a good thing, especially in these times.

Bill

Being a Master plumber is easy
Mastering plumbing is hard!

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Virginia Department of Licensing


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Bollinger plumber

I agree that getting the license is the easy part. I have known guys in both Maryland and Missouri that have taken the plumbing test and their only qualification was that they worked for a Plumbing contractor for the allotted period of time. The only thing they did for the contractor is one was a dispatcher and the other a salesman. Both of them probably could not tell you the difference between a sloan flush valve and a gate valve.

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Only two devining forces have died for you. One is Jesus Christ and the other is the American soldier. One died for your soul the other died for your freedom.

robthaplumber

I'll second that.

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Good Plumb'n aint cheap, Cheap Plumb'n aint Good