![\"Aimee](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3ec0c3d0-16b8-11f1-b37e-be689662a59b.png\")
Aimee Stanton is an advocate for women in the trades and worked as a plumber for a number of years before starting a tiny home business. (Source: Aimee Stanton) <\/p>\n Aimee Stanton is an advocate for women in the trades and worked as a plumber for a number of years before starting a tiny home business. (Source: Aimee Stanton) <\/p>\n
A female tradie<\/a> who was rejected from 120 plumbing jobs<\/a> has revealed the common challenge facing many workers in the industry. Aimee Stanton has experienced imposter syndrome<\/a> throughout her career and has felt like she had to work harder to prove herself.<\/p>\n Stanton still remembers the exact moment she decided to give plumbing a crack<\/a>. The now 32-year-old, who goes by The Lady Tradie online, told Yahoo Finance she\u2019d gone to the servo with her dad, a builder, to get an ice-cream.<\/p>\n \u201cI reached for the Magnum, as you do, the most expensive, and dad looked me in the eyes and said, that\u2019s a plumber\u2019s ice-cream, only plumbers can afford Magnums,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n It was that simple comment that sparked Stanton’s initial interest in the high-paying job<\/a>. Keen to do something with her hands, Stanton ended up applying for a pre-apprenticeship at TAFE in plumbing.<\/p>\n \u201cI always said I\u2019m going to get an apprenticeship<\/a> under my belt and go out and chase my dreams,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter about 120 rejections for plumbing jobs, I heard back from one and I got the job. That was the start of it and I suppose that was the start of the imposter syndrome as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/a><\/p>\n It was a baptism of fire for Stanton when she started in the trade.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first week in the trade was hell. I mucked up so many times. I crashed my car into the job site fence, I fell through a roof, I got a piece of metal stuck in my butt. It was the worst week ever,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s common for apprentices<\/a> to make mistakes while they are learning, Stanton felt like the stakes were higher for her as the only woman on site and she\u2019d be hard on herself if she wasn\u2019t as fast as someone else, even if they were qualified.<\/p>\n Like many female tradies, Stanton said she felt like she had to work harder<\/a> to try and impress her employer and prove herself.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore going into work each day, I would run through my head a million times, okay, what do I need to do today? How am I going to make it the best possible? And I would try not to make any mistakes. That was my mentality, I can\u2019t make a mistake,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Stanton admitted it was \u201cquite confronting\u201d, rocking up to sites where she was the only female amongst a group of 100 or 200 blokes who often assumed she was \u201cjust the office chick\u201d or a lift operator.<\/p>\n Story continues <\/p>\n \u201cI used to go home and cry at night because I just thought, why am I doing this? I shouldn\u2019t be here. I\u2019m passionate about it, but it\u2019s not the right place because that\u2019s what the environment was telling me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Stanton persevered and completed her plumbing apprenticeship. She went from making about $300 a week as a first-year plumbing apprentice<\/a> to about $120,000 a year through a union plumbing job as a qualified plumber.<\/p>\n But after years working as a plumber, she realised something was missing.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I became qualified, it looked like I had it all. I had a really good plumbing union job, I had a new house, I had a car, I had all that, but I just wasn\u2019t happy and [had] that urge for more,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I realised, okay, I’m gonna stop living for the materialistic things, and start living for the adventures and the fun and the learning. Then that’s when I sold everything [and] I quit my job as a plumber.\u201d<\/p>\n Stanton spent a few years travelling and even had a stint on reality TV show Survivor.<\/p>\n In 2017, Stanton started her own tiny house building and accommodation business, Tiny Stays, with her brother. In 2023, she launched women’s workwear brand Zadie Workwear.<\/p>\n Even when she became a business owner, Stanton admitted she experienced imposter syndrome<\/a> and felt like she had to “put on this front” that she knew what she was doing.<\/p>\n She\u2019s not the only one, either. New research commissioned by Solo by MYOB found that 32 per cent of sole operators felt like they were \u201cmaking it up as they go\u201d, 45 per cent were worried they weren\u2019t doing enough or didn\u2019t know enough, and 11 per cent regularly questioned their capability.<\/p>\n Additional research amongst employees revealed more than a quarter (26 per cent) had experienced imposter syndrome at work.<\/p>\n Stanton is now a passionate advocate for women in trades<\/a>. While imposter syndrome is a common experience amongst female tradies, she urged them to keep going.<\/p>\n \u201cFemale tradies feel like they have to prove themselves a lot more. The weirdest thing is, most of the time, they\u2019re there because they\u2019re passionate about the trade,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to kick goals and they want to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n She urged other young female tradies to \u201cgive it a crack\u201d and be themselves, and not be afraid to chase their dreams.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not always going to work out the way you want to, but if you keep rocking up every day with a smile on your face to learn, that is all you need,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just need the strength to be a learner and keep on going when times get tough. In any industry, it gets tough, and you\u2019re gonna muck up.<\/p>\n “But if you just keep on going, then the world\u2019s your oyster.\u201d<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stanton says she experienced imposter syndrome when working as a plumber and later as a business owner. (Source: Aimee Stanton) <\/p>\n
Stanton has encouraged other female tradies to keep persevering and chase their dreams. (Source: Aimee Stanton) <\/p>\n