A plumbing designer is an engineer that is charge of planning the big picture of plumbing in building, reservoirs and other situations dealing with water. In the process they will work with architects, engineers, plumbers, and other designers. Their charge being to design the most efficient and effective plumbing systems in the new structures. The materials they choose on include pipes, tanks, valves, pumps and other means of channelling water as needed.
Plumbing Design requires building extremely strong plumbing systems with failover. The plumbing designer must never cut corners even if encouraged to, as the end systems may cause major disaster should they fail. When it comes to this, redundancy and backup systems are a large part of the planning. Failures in plumbing design could cause many displaced persons, and maybe even fatalities.
Education Required For Plumbing Design
The most complete education for Plumbing Design is through a university. You won’t find a 4 year program called “plumbing design” rather you would focus on studies related to building construction, civil engineering, or mechanical engineering. This choice of study will bring you the widest spectrum of knowledge, and other opportunities should you decide that being a plumbing designer isn’t for you. These programs will likely find you a vast resource in contacts, and some excellent internship opportunities that can give your career an extra boost from the start.
You will often find a more specific 2-year program in “plumbing design” at a number of colleges. This shorter degree program will definitely get you what you need. Still you will want to gain experience in your field prior to graduation to give you better chances once you are ready to start your career.
Some plumbing designers come from the many master plumbers out there. With years of experience they have become experts at the big picture of plumbing. With this come many certifications from various professional plumbing organizations that specifically confirm their qualifications. Often their career path was aimed towards the engineering side of commercial plumbing where the systems are much larger than those in residential installations and repairs.
Certifications and Continued Education
Plumbing design requires continued training on the skills needed to cover changes in plumbing, technological improvements in related fields, and changes in local codes that need to be followed in new civil engineering. Some plumbing engineers may even be involved in the development of these local laws.
Often plumbing engineers are “certified in plumbing design”. This is the result of passing tests proving they have strong knowledge in plumbing design. They also have to retest and train additionally to maintain their status. This not only keeps them at the top of their field, it also brings improvements in their designs.
