Wisconsin Teens Girls Forward Career Profiles

Do you like using tools and building things? If you appreciate the details of a job, and like to get things done right, you might have what it takes to be an electrician. Learn about the electrical trade from Sai Thor, an electrical apprentice in Madison, Wisconsin.

I worked at an insurance company for three years and decided the office life was not for me. I needed a change of pace. I was sitting at a computer all day for eight hours. I got really good at my job and I guess I wanted a different challenge. I could have gotten another office job, but I wanted something new, something completely different. I wanted to do something physical.

Sai enrolled in Madison Area Technical College's Tools for Tomorrow: Women in Trades and Technology program, where she learned about the different trades and decided to become an electrician.

Since I�ve always liked using hand tools and tinkering around with electronics, I thought this would be a good career move. I also found electricity to be fascinating and always wanted a job that would challenge me physically and mentally.

Looking back on the first two and a half years, it has been challenging. But once you get some experience it all starts to make sense.

I�m a third year electrician apprentice in Madison, Wisconsin. I assemble, install, test, and maintain electrical wiring, equipment, and fixtures. We also install conduit (metal pipe) to run wire for fixtures, switches, and receptacles.

Sai is petite � she stands about 5'0" in her boots. She reflects on the physical nature of the work:

Sometimes, there's going to be heavy stuff that you're going to have to do, like carrying bundles of conduit. I thought I was in good shape when I started, and then I got there and realized I would get in even better shape. My body has gotten used it.

Carrying pipe is only part of it. Bending pipe and hanging it is physical, but it's not a big strain. I guess it depends where the job is --whether building has just begun, or whether it's nearly finished. If it just started, it's going to be more physical, like digging trenches. Later on, finishing becomes less heavy work, you install switches and outlets and put up lights and fire alarm systems.

Thinking about some of the different jobs I've been on, building a parking ramp was completely different than working inside. You're installing PVC conduit with expansion joints, and there are certain ways you have to do it. It's really different. The ramp came in prefabricated pieces. They actually had a crane to put it together. The concrete sections had plastic knockout holes so that you could just knock them out and run your pipe through the space provided. Hospitals are different too, because they have such strict standards compared to other buildings.

Now, I notice a lot more than I did before I got into the trade. When I go into a store or a restaurant, I�ll just sit there and look at the exposed piping and the electrical and see how they did it. After we got done building it, when the new Gander Mountain store opened for business, I went there to look at my work. Wow, I did that!

I graduated from high school and went to the University of Wisconsin � Madison for two years. To become an apprentice electrician you have to be a high school graduate or obtain a GED and have one full year of high school algebra.

The technology of the equipment we install such as fixtures, motor controls, and fire alarms is always changing. I am always adapting and learning how to install them.

Tools are always changing. That makes your job easier. The newer, lighter tools put less strain on you, and on your wrists. The batteries last longer.

Electricians are responsible for supplying their own hand tools and multimeters, and their employers --the electrical contractors-- supply the power tools. Some of the most commonly used tools are cordless drills, hammer drills and circular saws.

Do you think that women are or can be treated differently from men in your field?

It depends on who you�re working with. The journeymen I�ve worked with were all pretty good to me. They were all pretty cool. They treated me like an equal, because you're their tool partner. They were willing to teach, too. Most of them were more open to suggestions than I expected. They let me decide how to do things.

When you think about your workplace, what departments/fields do most of the women work in?

In the field, most women are journeymen or apprentices. Occasionally, a woman will be a foreman, running the work.

Starting wage for an electrician apprentice is $11.84 an hour. Once you become a journeyman you will make about $30 an hour, plus benefits.

Do you think a woman�s appearance affects if she is hired to do a job or how people around her relate to her at work?

In the beginning they really didn�t, because it�s just the way Asian culture is, and my family is really traditional. Now, because I�ve been in it for over two years, they see that this is what I want to do. They still worry about me getting injured, but they�re fine with it. I tell them it's physical but it�s mental too. I�m going to school and I�m learning. My dad asks if I�m getting anything out of it. He asks, "�Once you become a journeyman, do you actually get a degree?�" Well technically yes, because I am learning a trade and I�m going to get licensed.

Union apprentices attend day school classes during the first three years of the five year apprenticeship, and are typically required to take a night school class each semester. At the end of the five years, they "top out" and become journeyworkers. Through the apprenticeship program, there is an option to get an associates degree in construction management. After getting seven years of experience, electricians can take the masters test. A master electrician has the authority to get building permits.

Is there anything else you would like to tell girls about your career or how you got there?

To learn about what you're getting into, talk to other electricians about the field. Don�t be afraid to try something different. Even if it doesn�t work out, at least you tried. Whatever your situation, do your best. Take the best out of it you can. Never give up. If this is what you truly want, don�t ever give up.

Sai Thor was nominated for this profile by Nancy Nakkoul of the Tools for Tomorrow: Women in the Trades and Technology program at MATC-Madison. Thanks MATC-Madison for supporting women in the trades!

About the interviewer and writer: A person with many interests and multiple careers, Lisa Goodman was trained in conservation biology, natural resources and journalism. Her path has taken her from field to lab, to canoe, to office, and most recently to construction sites. Along the way she has written about paddlesports, natural resources, community heroes, and remarkable women. She is honored to be helping share the stories of the women profiled here. To contact her, email: lfgoodman09(atsign)gmail.com.

Questions for this Career Profile were developed by Milwaukee-area Girl Scouts. Are there specific questions you would like see included in Career Profiles? Email us your questions at WIGirlsCareers@wisconsin.gov