A plumber needs like 4 years training and much coursework and exams to qualify as plumber.

If you don't think a plumber's work is worth $150/hr, then don't hire one.

Bro - you posted without using any of your Tucker buzzwords. I am so proud of you.

Says the AOC buzzword troll...

This thread clarifies to me how the OP could be a tireless Trump supporter for 6 years.

Hey I replaced a switch. Why do electricians need such training?

Hey I programmed my thermostat, why do HVAC need all that ridiculous training?

Simpleton.

And, unlike many other professions, they are never out of work. Many self employed plumbers make more than most white colored professions on average. Union plumbers like the benefits, time off, ability to stand around and watch, and still get paid., and get a really good retirement pension...with healthcare.

You think government is the answer to all problems and you think other people are stupid. LOL!!

No, it may not take 10 years in total, but everyone will vary.

But you watching a YouTube video and replacing an O-Ring you bought at Home Depot to stop the leak surely doesn't qualify you for much of anything else but that;). And all plumbers don't charge $300. You are correct, some do but unless you are in a very expensive neighborhood, that's a tad excessive.

A faucet is only one area of plumbing, one very small area. Drain systems, venting, glueing pvc correctly, etc...brings many different plumbing scenarios.

"I changed an outlet in my house by myself. How hard can being an electrician be?"

Any easy way to raise the blood pressure of your medical doctor friends. Inform your medical doctor friends, master plumbers and master electricians earn as much or more than primary care medical doctors and D.O.s. Economists see medical doctors as glorified electricians and glorified plumbers anyway. If a sewage pipe breaks in New Orleans across the street from Superdome the day before Superbowl is to be hosted there, do you want (mostly) men who know what they are doing to fix the broken sewage pipe?

Maybe residential. Not commercial. Plumbing isn’t just water. It is gas, refrigerant lines, medical gas, steam (at different pressures and temperatures), industrial gases, etc. There are different materials, different support requirements based on load and flow, etc. The trades are more technical than you are giving them credit for. Sure, most guys could sweat a pipe, set a toilet and plumb a sink after a year, But not every guy knows to use a pipe cutter and not a hacksaw on refrigerant pipe, which type of copper (hard or soft) in which application, knows not to use standard solder on nitrous gas piping, what pipe hanger to use on high pressure steam for a given velocity, etc.

You earn and learn in a trade. You pick up skills as you go along so it doesn't matter how long that process takes.

It's not like going to university for 4 years for a bachelors and missing out on earnings whilst accumulating debt.

Plumbers make very very good money in Australia.

Plumbing is sooo much easier than it used to be.

Pex & sharkbite connections

Just don't let a plumber fix a leak in a faucet. They will charge more than replacing it with a new one. A number of years some lumber worked on an outside faucet from a finished off section of the basement. He said he might have to cut a hole in my wall to get tot the back but he work on the outside to fix it and it cost $100 to fix. I didn't do anything with it for years, recently fixed it myself from the outside with sharkbite and new faucet for under 12.

I like plumbing. I do my own work. If I were a young person starting out, I would consider it as a career.

Anyway, we had a slow toilet that was backing up. I drained the toilet and was going to run a snake through the line it. Realized there was no cleanout on the drain line. I pulled the toilet off the floor and ran my little auger down the drain. It was still slow, the clog was probably 25' down the line. So I called a plumber because they have these "unclog any drain for $75" deals. So he rolls in and this is the easiest job in the world for him. Toilet is already removed, he pushes his big snake thing down there, runs it, hits something about 30' down and goes through it, presto, no more slow drain.

Then I ask him how much to put the toilet back on and he quotes me some outlandish price, $300+ or whatever. I'm like, hey dude, all you need is a wax ring, under $5, take you 15 minutes max to do this. His answer explained the cost. Basically, once he touches that toilet, he owns all future problems with it. Small leak? His responsibility. Flapper gets stuck? His fault. So he's pricing in the fact that once he touches it, he may have to deal with it again (and again).

I paid him for the drain cleanout, and I put the toilet back on the flange. It's been fine.

Sharkbites can and do fail. Don't ever put one in a sealed wall cavity. I would only use one in an emergency.