[Aggravatedtap]

I worked as a plumbers apprentice for a few years for a very small/new and a bit unprofessional company. While I did learn a lot I felt that I wasn’t learning enough/was too slow at plumbing, thinking I’d never be a great plumber and started getting discouraged. When the business ended up slowing down I wasn’t getting a full 40 so I decided to look into something else. I ended up getting an offer to try sprinkler fitting and decided to check it out. I’m now doing that and working for a good company with pretty decent pay but slightly missing plumbing and every time I see plumbers on the job I’m kicking myself wishing that I finished my plumbing apprenticeship and at least got licensed before looking into something else. Ive always been a very indecisive person and I find myself thinking maybe I should look for a bigger more professional plumbing company where i would potentially learn and earn more. I also worry about doing that and then later regretting it and wishing I stuck with fitting and maybe eventually join my local UA. I really don’t know which one is the right future for me. Also if this affects anything, I’m a very small guy. Any tips/advice? Experienced fitters/plumbers opinions appreciated

 

[Sstratton6175]

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[The Dane]

Oh and now that you posted an intro. In regards to your other post that is currently locked. If you find yourself missing plumbing. I would say to go back to plumbing as you will in the long run likely like it better. Nothing wrong with sprinkler fitters. That said I feel like that is more repetition day after day doing basically the same thing. You might have had a hard time at your first place plumbing. You could try a different place just to see how you like it. Most of us feel like we are slow and learn slowly in the beginning. It's natural. I would say to go with an all around company where you can learn different things big companies seem to have a few guys that know their stuff and then a bunch of wanna be plumbers that are in reality just daylabor because they simply get told what to do and then do it for long stretches. If you have any ambition plumbing can take you much farther then sprinkler fitters (in most cases, not all)

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[Sstratton6175]

From my experience you will learn way more working for a small/mid sized company. If you’re an apprentice for a large company your only going to be just an extra set of hands to put up hangers, cut pipe, and run to the supply house.

 

[skoronesa]

..........If you find yourself missing plumbing. I would say to go back to plumbing as you will in the long run likely like it better. Nothing wrong with sprinkler fitters. That said I feel like that is more repetition day after day doing basically the same thing. ........

But.....I know some sprinkler fitters who get to run sweat copper. The price of black iron's gone up so much it's often cheaper to run copper in some places. Of course that orange cpvc is taking over too.

I like sweating copper but I'm sure you're right, do it 5 days a week and I'd probably be sick of it. The grass is always greener I guess.

 

[skoronesa]

From my experience you will learn way more working for a small/mid sized company. If you’re an apprentice for a large company your only going to be just an extra set of hands to put up hangers, cut pipe, and run to the supply house.

I work for a very large company and I thinking you're painting them all with a broad brush. We do our best to properly train our guys on all aspects of the trade they select. Granted some years are tougher than others and sometimes guys get stuck on jobsites doing the same things for a while, but by the end of 4 years all our guys have seen and done quite a varied amount of work.

 

[Sstratton6175]

I work for a very large company and I thinking you're painting them all with a broad brush. We do our best to properly train our guys on all aspects of the trade they select. Granted some years are tougher than others and sometimes guys get stuck on jobsites doing the same things for a while, but by the end of 4 years all our guys have seen and done quite a varied amount of work.

Seems like you work for a diamond in the rough large company. From my experience MOST not all large companies couldn’t care less about training up the green apprentice to do anything more than the monotonous tasks that they don’t want to have to do for themselves. You have to be extremely self motivated to learn the real nuts and bolts of the trade, but I guess that could be true no matter what company you work for.

 

[The Dane]

From my experience you will learn way more working for a small/mid sized company. If you’re an apprentice for a large company your only going to be just an extra set of hands to put up hangers, cut pipe, and run to the supply house.

Just what I was trying to get at

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[The Dane]

But.....I know some sprinkler fitters who get to run sweat copper. The price of black iron's gone up so much it's often cheaper to run copper in some places. Of course that orange cpvc is taking over too.

I like sweating copper but I'm sure you're right, do it 5 days a week and I'd probably be sick of it. The grass is always greener I guess.

Orange cpvc is all they use around here now. Grass isn't always greener no. At least for me I would like some variation on my job.

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[skoronesa]

Orange cpvc is all they use around here now. Grass isn't always greener no. At least for me I would like some variation on my job.....

Yup, me too, that's why I love service plumbing. Even if the job is the same the customers usually aren't. I've met a mot of cool people doing my job.

 

[Debo22]

Orange cpvc is all they use around here now. Grass isn't always greener no. At least for me I would like some variation on my job.

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That’s why I like doing heating and air also. Plenty of day to day variety

 

[The Dane]

That’s why I like doing heating and air also. Plenty of day to day variety

I would love to get into learning HVAC service such as no heat and no ac calls. I never got the chance for that and now, well it's too late as I'll be busy with business things. Also only service as I hate actually working with sheetmetal ( the few times I did I always cut myself and I have a scar on my wrist now from it)

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[Debo22]

I would love to get into learning HVAC service such as no heat and no ac calls. I never got the chance for that and now, well it's too late as I'll be busy with business things. Also only service as I hate actually working with sheetmetal ( the few times I did I always cut myself and I have a scar on my wrist now from it)

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We don’t work with a whole lot of sheet metal here. Just like us using flex gas and water heater connectors we use flex duct. HVAC guys in your area probably use all metal duct

 

[The Dane]

We don’t work with a whole lot of sheet metal here. Just like us using flex gas and water heater connectors we use flex duct. HVAC guys in your area probably use all metal duct

Mix of metal and flex but mostly metal I would say.

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[Frodo]

Aggrevattap,
here is the gawds truth
A sprinkler fitter or pipe fitter can not do a plumbers job
A plumber can do both of there jobs and more
Go find a small residential company that does new construction AND service work
concentrate on learning to lay out and install rough ins and installing DWV

In my opinion, The guy that has the knowledge to lay out and install the DWV is the most sought after guy.
stick with that small co.for 2 years. then move up to a mid size plumbing shop that does new construction commercial and residential. You will then start roughing in places like wendies, office buildings and a church or 2. stick with that for 2 years. LEARN HVAC
Every time you see a boiler room get your butt in there and learn

here is a challenge..this is something you will have to learn

you are looking at a double row heating coil
it has 2 openings. the little sticker that says in and out is gone
which opening is supply and which is return?
extra credit
explain why it matters which is supply and which is return. it is just a damn loop of pipe
why for it matters????

 

[Frodo]

Ok...here is your answer
here are 2 coils, the first is a single coil, supply the bottom return the top
the 2nd is a double row coil. you still suply the bottom and return the top . the difference here is the supply coil in relationship with the fan. you want the RETURN coil to be the coil the fan air hits first and the supply second.
Next question should be WTF? WHY? The answer is the outside make up air
lets say it is December, 20 degrees outside, 70 degrees inside . boiler is running at 200 degrees
the coil temp on both sides of the coil is going to be the same. WITHIN a degree or 2.
you are pulling in 100 percent inside return air.

then you open the damper and pull in 20 percent outside air your return air is now , let me reach in my arse and pull out a number. 50 degrees mixed
the mixed air hits the RETURN coil and is PRE HEATED before it hits the SUPPLY coil whitch brings it back to 70 degrees .
IF
the coil was backwards. you would coool the water and never get back up to an ambient 70 degrees

oh...why supply the bottom and return the top? air, bubbles, you can bleed the air off the system
some kind of physics crap about bubbles float up or something like that. I dunno, i fell asleep and just wrote on the test supply bottom/return top. and got it right