I will reveal a secret for my readers, my Father worked as a plumber during the Soviet times. So, he told me why it was not prestigious to work as a plumber, but money. A striking example of this, the hero from the film: “Afonya"- directed by Georgy Danelia.
In those days, people hoping to quickly get free living space from the state went to work as a janitor and plumber. In house administrations, the queue for housing was faster. Therefore, by the will of fate, my father worked as a plumber because of the notorious "housing problem".
When working with the population, as I remember, my father always came under the head. And he always had enough pocket money.
Due to the fact that the salary was not high, I had to take a hack. So that it is normal, without misery, to feed three juvenile mouths.
Working with a sewer or with a welder, especially on galvanized pipes, did not add to health. Therefore, after work, they underwent a course of therapy, the removal of harmful compounds from the body, with the help of alcohol. And he brought home milk that was passed off as harmful. We drank it, juvenile mouths.
This episode from the film "Athos", which is presented in the video, according to my Father, took place. Who was more loyal to plumbers, bottle or money. That and a new crane-axle box was installed and all the gaskets were available. And who communicated with ambition or even more so complained. There is no scarce material, no quality work.
And even now the situation in housing offices has not gone far, except that you rarely meet a drunken plumber. Perhaps the situation is different in your region. But according to my father, it was like that in the early 80s.