‘It’s never too late to change career’
Jodie swaps therapy for plumbing
JODIE Cooper is blazing a trail for women in a maledominated field. The 37-year-old plumber is only aware of three other women working in her industry in Bristol.
However, for her, becoming a plumber wasn’t planned – it happened by accident.
Jodie, who lives in the Easton area, has been working as a plumber for nearly four years now but worked as a mental health practitioner beforehand.
“I thought I needed a change,” she said. “When my last job ended, I started working with our gas engineer by accident.
“He is really nice and I had known him for six years at that point.
“He is really pro-women in the trades and he knew I had left my last job.
“He was in the middle of doing some work in our house and he asked me if I had found a new job yet.
“I hadn’t and he asked me if I wanted to work for him as he needed an assistant.
“I said ‘alright, let’s do this’.” Jodie – who was 34 when she went to college to retrain – said she learnt on the job with him for a year before going to college, and has now run her own business, Ms Plumber, for a year.
The 37-year-old said she wanted to make sure she enjoyed the job before retraining, having spent some more time working with a second engineer as well.
Jodie has a masters in art therapy, but had struggled to find enough work. However, she still does some hours working as a mental health practitioner with students these days.
“I had never considered this before – it has been a happy accident,” she said. “It is exceptionally busy, but really enjoyable.
“I get to meet lots of people and I also enjoy being fit and active.
“I find it really rewarding when I leave a customer’s home and they are satisfied with what I have done.”
Jodie – who is currently doing a bathroom as well as some maintenance around that – said she works really long hours, with her working week normally being 60 hours.
She said the job involves more than just going to people’s houses, adding she also needs to do invoices, place orders and collect them, among other things.
“Generally, I feel well received by other tradespeople and I find most suppliers are welcoming and treat me with respect,” she said.
“All my customers are really happy to have me as a woman and they stay loyal to me, just like I stay loyal to them.
“Occasionally I encounter sexism, but not often enough for it be an issue.
“I would say there is a lot of positive support from people – they are very excited to welcome in a woman in the trades.
“I do stand out and I do sometimes feel a lot of pressure to do well because I am not anonymous.”
Jodie said that, as a tradesperson, she has never struggled with the physical side of things, but that she needs to look after her body as she often finds herself working in uncomfortable positions and confined spaces.
That is the issue, she added, rather than lifting or carrying heavy objects.
“I wish I had done this when I was 18 – I had more energy then,” she said. “As an 18-year-old, I had boundless energy.
“I think tradespeople are highly intelligent and skilled, with lots to offer.
“I have so much respect for them.”
Jodie – who is interested in renewable energies and is looking at doing courses around that – said she was always dealing with new challenges as every single house is unique.
She added that, to be a good tradesperson, you need a variety of abilities including business and financial skills but also marketing and leadership skills, for example.
Sometimes you need to be able to work quickly under pressure because it is necessary to cut the water supply to several properties, Jodie said.
“I think we need to look up to tradespeople a lot more,” she added. “I really think there is a gap in the market and that we need more females to join the trades sector.
“It is a really rewarding job so I would encourage anyone to take up a trade. It is never too late to change careers.”
❝ I had never considered this before - it has been a happy accident. I think it is exceptionally busy but really enjoyable. I get to meet lots of people and it really rewarding when I leave a customer’s home and they are satisfied with what I have done
Jodie Cooper