Plumber

Union member for 35 years

How did you choose this profession? I was always fixing everything around the house, and I was really good at it too. So when a counselor suggested working in the trades, I thought, “Sure. I would be making as much money as a man.” I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it did not mean cleaning toilets and fixing faucets all day. There are so many different types of work in this trade, from installing the piping infrastructure in an office to doing electronic infrastructure in a hospital. So many pipes that I never even thought about before!

How has being a tradeswoman impacted you? Improved my self-confidence and independence. I was able to buy my own home — and pay it off! I am financially secure with a pension and money in the bank, all due to the union, good wages, and health benefits.

Any advice to young women considering careers in the trades? If you work well with your hands and like learning new skills, this could be your opportunity of a lifetime.

What project are you most proud of? As an apprentice I worked on a 18-inch polyethylene line that was in a ditch 20-feet deep. We butt welded the joint above ground, then snaked the line into the ditch using roust-a-bouts and come-alongs. I couldn’t believe we were able to get this huge pipe that seemed so rigid into that deep ditch, but the pipe flexed and we pulled it down. The other part of that project was to make a double containment tray for the pipe which required air welding the tray from flat sheets with mitered corners. I figured out how to do the air welding by reading the instructions. I think the journeyman, who left me alone to figure it out, was impressed.