You can learn to do anything. No matter how old you are.
I couldn't tell you what the rates for plumbers are here.
My nephew is pretty freakin' handy and can fix most things. What he
can't fix, he usually has a friend who is well-versed in whatever area
he needs help with. Networking is a wonderful thing.
The old saying applies, "it's not what you know, but who you know".
Btw, there are a lot of how-tos on Youtube. If you have a reasonably simple
problem, you might be able to find an answer there.

I do a lot of my own plumbing, including new installations. I snake my own drains and fix toilet running and faucet leaks. It's not rocket science by any means. $90 an hour is a good rate if it's something complicated, but all the simple stuff is readily learn-able on you tube. Send me a message describing the problem and I can probably help.

Have the same happen to me... I asked the plumber to marry me...no shit and then my friend husband helped..took him 15 minutes and a bottle of Stella

Some plumbing things are not toooo hard to do. Others... hm.

Plumbing is much easier than it was years ago due to all the prefabricated parts,fittings, flex braided hose, PVC pipe etc.A type of repair fitting called a Pushfit shark bite fitting enable all pipes to be but together without threading, soldering etc. I never have to call a plumber

I feel like $90/hour is pretty standard. I figure whenever someone comes to your house to do anything and it's less than $100/hour, it's a decent deal. I live in an economically depressed area, so the cost here might be a little less on average, but I wouldn't consider $90 unusual.

I just had one over today to install an already purchased tankless water heater. The total charged was over $800; almost $500 being labor ($133 an hour).

Now I get to get an electrician over since apparently the electrical wire I have to it is too small. It keeps tripping the breaker. Joy, joy..... more money that I don't have.

Unfortunately, you're up the creek without a paddle at the immediate time. There are a number of self-help books and sites. I recommend that you familiarize yourself with them.

Charges here in the Uk are somewhat less, but not by much.

Many of our local colleges offer evening classes in basic plumbing and other trades suitable for DIY jobs, teaching basic skills that give a good understanding of what you can tackle at home and what you should call a tradesmen for. If nothing else, it gives you the knowledge to know whether or not you are being ripped off.

And yes, of course a 54 year old could learn this regardless of gender.

Google. When I was a 41 yo woman I learned to replace a windshield wiper motor. In the spirit of full disclosure it took 12 hours and the wipers "rested" in the middle of the windshield afterwards but....

I wouldn't tinker with plumbing and electricity....but indeed with many other things in my place such as installing shelves and flat crown molding, painting and repairing walls....and what I save I can use to pay a plumber and an electrician if the need arrives.

That's a great idea if you like to mess with tools (I sure do) and obviously, you can make money.

It usually takes two to five years to become a licensed plumber, depending on the requirements of your state. Some require technical classes, and all require apprenticeship hours, which can last 2-5 years, which you can complete while taking technical classes. You can check local plumbing businesses to see if they are hiring apprentices, so you are at least getting paid while learning.

[ferguson.com]

You Tube! I know some stuff. There are other DIY sites, but be careful who's advice you trust.

Just be careful. If something breaks, you'll be paying for longer than 1-2 hrs to fix it.

What is the problem? I could probably tell you how to fix.

Good thing I did call a plumber because I had to have a new faucet and he had to use a hacksaw to get the old off LOL

The dishwasher is not a plumbing issue but he did tell me what it commonly is so I may be able to do that myself.

The owner came out, spent half hour taking stuff apart and poking around and told me I needed new faucet after not being to replace cartridge since he didnt have one and I did not know the brand.

Said to buy a moen and he would have his nephew come out and install it on the same service ticket. It was a mess under there from all kinds of jury rigging the previous owner's roommate's deadbeat son- a story for another time had done.

Nephew is a a handyman on the side so after he finished we discussed the other stuff I want or need to do. When I opened the door I was shocked at how much he resembles my oldest son.

I was charged for 1 hour of labor of $90. I did spend $208 on the faucet but it's a nice faucet and now I have a soap dispenser as well. Yeah sometime's it is the little things.

Now if only a decent set of cabinets would fall into my lap. LOL

I think you can obtain some basic knowledge from DIY books and watching others do the job. You can even go to a DIY shop. I never experienced that they did not help.

look at youtube with all this plastic tubing and push fits its a piece of cake I think even with copper piping.

I get mine free, I do it myself. I can repair almost anything from computers to ripping an engine down to the manifolds. I would much prefer building a computer to auto mechanic work though. Woodworking is cool thought also. Plumbing can be flustering. What are they repairing?

The last time I hired a plumber, he told me it would be $60 for the first 15 minutes! (Basically, I paid him to show up.) Luckily, he was straight-up and fixed my leaky pipe for less than $100 and was gone in less than an hour.

I do most of my own plumbing. It really isn't that hard to figure out. If you have zero experience, youtube is a good starting place.

What is wrong?