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HEALTH AND SANITATION
She ’ s Meant to Be a Plumber , No Doubt About It
By Mike Flenniken
David Viola , IAPMO CEO
In the spirit of the sharing of unique experiences that shape the plumbing industries in our respective nations , the following article is a profile of IAPMO member Aster Tseng , who left a successful graphic design career to become a plumber despite skepticism from many of those around her . Written by IAPMO Staff Writer Mike Flenniken , it is the next in a regular series of similar articles that will run in this magazine . Dave Viola IAPMO CEO
Aster Tseng has proved her skeptics wrong and found herself a home in the trades .
Aster Tseng has had her share of doubters — including her family and co-workers — from the beginning of her journey to becoming a plumber .
After immigrating to the United States from Taiwan when she was twelve , she earned a degree from the University of California , Davis and had a successful 10-year career as a graphic designer . But being in an office all day , every day left her feeling unfulfilled and disconnected from the world .
“ I had a cushy office job , but I didn ' t enjoy it because I was always indoors ,” she said . “ And throughout my journey , living in America , I know there ' s a big difference sanitation wise .”
Plumbing appealed to her for myriad reasons , one of which was the stark contrast she noticed in the standards of cleanliness and hygiene between the United States and Taiwan . In Taiwan — where her father grew up without running water or indoor plumbing — her family had to boil tap water before drinking it and her elementary school bathroom stalls had a trench running underneath them that carried the waste to a central location . In the United States , there were several situations in which they needed a plumber for such issues as leaky fixtures that they used duct tape to repair .
Tseng had never met or even seen a female plumber , so she didn ’ t know how likely that would be until an online search uncovered the federal government ’ s Trades Orientation Program ( TOP ), which helps high school graduates — particularly women , young adults , veterans , and under-represented minorities — learn more about an apprenticeship and career in the building and construction trades . Through TOP , she found and enrolled in the San Jose-based UA Local 393 ’ s apprenticeship programme .
“ I took that free programme , and they introduced us to all the different trades , and I decided to go with plumbing ,” she said . “ But when I first started , I didn ' t know what a pipe wrench was , I didn ’ t know anything at all . I ’ m so glad they put up with me and taught me everything on the job .” From the outset , Tseng has had to prove she belongs . Her first day as an apprentice — where she would be the only woman on the job — she was told to report to the office trailer when a man approached her asking if she had paperwork for him . “ I was like , ‘ No , I ’ m here for my first day of work ,’” she said . “ And he looked at me and asked , ‘ Hmm , work on what ?’ I said , ‘ I ’ m a plumber . I ’ m a first-year apprentice and I ’ m waiting for my foreman .’”
Similar situations have played out over the ensuing years as Tseng has worked her way to where she is now as a journeywoman plumber .
“ A lot of times people thought I was lost when I first reported to a jobsite ,” she said . “ They thought maybe my car broke down because you start early in the morning , and you ’ re parked on the side of the road .”
Aster Tseng
Her co-workers weren ’ t much better in her early days in the trade . After four months on her first jobsite as an apprentice — the only female among roughly 150 workers — someone told her there was a jobsite-wide bet on how long she would last .
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline August 2023 Volume 29 I Number 6