Series 4204

Pipefitting

Pipefitters who install, maintain, and repair piping systems for steam, water, fuel, air, and other liquids and gases, often in ships and industrial plants.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

4200 Plumbing and Pipefitting Family · Federal Wage System (trades)

See open 4204 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 270
Open now: 22
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+10%)
Demand score: 75/100
Remote opportunity score: 0/100
Veteran opportunity score: 92/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

WG-10

Most common promotion potential: WG-10

WG pay plan, used by 78% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$30,783 to $101,741 per year

Median of the yearly salary ranges in posted announcements.

Who can apply

Share of job postings in the last 12 months, by who the announcement was open to.

Open to the public: 71%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 29%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 21%
Telework eligible (open now): 0%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of Veterans Affairs (156)
Department of the Navy (55)
Department of Homeland Security (13)
Department of the Army (12)
Department of Justice (10)

Top states

Virginia (22)
California (20)
New York (19)
Washington (15)
Maryland (14)

Hiring patterns

Based on job announcements since Mar 2017. How patterns are calculated

When this series usually posts jobs

Postings usually peak in August and October and are lowest in December and November.

Typical postings for series 4204 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	10% below average
February	About average
March	10% above average
April	About average
May	About average
June	9% below average
July	About average
August	20% above average
September	6% below average
October	13% above average
November	11% below average
December	13% below average

Postings by fiscal year

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal years 2025 and 2026 include the government-wide hiring freeze that began in January 2025.

Job announcements for series 4204 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	326
FY 2019	345
FY 2020	308
FY 2021	299
FY 2022	407
FY 2023	446
FY 2024	301
FY 2025	260
FY 2026	264

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 4204 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	18
Jan 2026	22
Feb 2026	19
Mar 2026	26
Apr 2026	24
May 2026	23
Jun 2026	19
Jul 2026	26
Aug 2026	14
Sep 2026	30
Oct 2026	31
Nov 2026 (month to date)	18

4206 Plumbing 151 postings in 12 months
4255 Fuel Distribution System Mechanic 18 postings in 12 months
4201 Miscellaneous Plumbing and Pipefitting 13 postings in 12 months

About this data

Job numbers come from the USAJOBS API: 244,223 job announcements opened from December 1, 2025 to November 15, 2026, plus 12,260 announcements open on November 15, 2026. Canceled announcements are not counted. Series descriptions summarize the OPM Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families.

These figures describe posted job announcements, not hiring outcomes. Always read the official announcement and its qualification requirements before applying. How the scores are calculated.