How to become a pipe fitter

Official title: Pipe fitter

Also called: Aircraft pipe and tube fitter, Gas pipe fitter, Marine pipe fitter, Steam pipe fitter, Ÿ Aircraft pipe and tube fitter, Ÿ Gas pipe fitter, Ÿ Marine pipe fitter, Ÿ Steam pipe fitter

Pipe fitter assembles, installs and maintains high-pressure and low-pressure systems of metal pipes for conducting air, gas, steam, oil, water and other fluids. He/she finds and repairs leaks, joints, couplings and other fittings.

Main tasks

• Measuring, cutting, threading, bending, jointing, assembling, installing, maintaining and repairing pipes, fittings and fixtures of drainage, heating water supply and sewage systems
• Inspecting, examining and testing installed systems and pipes, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation or other methods

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Plumber
• Pipe/Drain layer
• Roofer
• Floor/Wall tiler
• Plasterer
• Refrigeration/Air-conditioning equipment insulator

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Questions people ask

Will AI change the work of a pipe fitter?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026