Drain technician
Also called drain cleaner, sewer cleaner, sewer inspector
Drain technicians install and maintain drainage equipment used in sewer systems, such as pipes and valves. They analyse the design and ensure the proper installation of the drainage system, and perform maintenance and repair duties.
What you'd do
Plumbers and pipe fitters · ILO- Examining blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine the layout of plumbing and ventilation systems and materials required
- Measuring, cutting, threading, bending, jointing, assembling, installing, maintaining and repairing pipes, fittings and fixtures of drainage, heating, ventilation, water supply and sewerage systems
- Installing gas appliances, dishwashers and water heaters, sinks and toilets using hand and power tools
- Laying clay, concrete or cast-iron pipes in ditches to form sewers, drains or water mains, or for other purposes
- Inspecting, examining and testing installed systems and pipes, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation or other methods
- Mostly outdoors
- A mix of sitting and standing
- Constant contact with people, including the public
- Good freedom to decide
- Often more than 40 hours a week
- Deadlines most weeks
- Some repetitive tasks
Will there be jobs?
Yes, good prospects19 EU countries are short of plumbers and pipe fitters now, but fewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
About averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,000 a month (Bulgaria) to €5,500 (Denmark), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among craft and related trades workers in the EU, women earn 26% less per hour than men. Craft and related trades workers · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Upper secondary or vocationalUpper secondary or vocational training in building and civil engineering is the usual route.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could help with only small parts of the tasks.
Average task score 0.18 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 5 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for plumbers and pipe fitters. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).