What were you doing prior to working in the trades?

I was working in a metal fabrication shop right before joining the pipefitters. I worked the non-profit world and food service before that.

What contractor have you liked working for and why?

I currently work for Daikin Applied. In the service fitter world we don't move around too much but on the construction side I worked for two different contractors. I enjoy working for Daikin, they're a good contractor to be with. I get a lot of training opportunities and I work with some really sharp people.  

What's an average day look like for you?

Every day is pretty different for me, my jobsite changes every day or multiple times a day. We have three basic categories of work; preventative maintenance (PM), a quoted or time and materials job, and service calls. I could be doing a PM somewhere, changing filters, checking operations and then get pulled for a service call. On a service call, I more often than not have no idea what I'm walking into, have probably never worked on that particular piece of equipment. Quoted or time and materials jobs are often work that we've found or written up on past PM's, and those can be anything from replacing gear reducer oil in cooling tower fans, to changing out humidifier pans in liebert units, to replacing compressors for MRI systems. We find and order our own parts, we run the jobs on our own, we research and plan out solutions, and we maintain relationships with our sites, most often the maintenance department. Some days are spent chasing a part down, or driving across town, others could be spent all day in a boiler room setting a combustion curve and doing a PM on a power burner head, where the spark electrodes and gas and oil nozzles have to be aligned exactly to OEM specifications for proper combustion.

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What's something that surprised you?

I'm constantly surprised by how much I'm allowed to just do. Fix the burner operation on a boiler? Yeah thats all you! Figure out how to change the oil in three gear reducers in these cooling towers in winter? Yeah you'll figure it out! 

What's something unpleasant about your job?

Working alone is something I knew I would struggle with and is probably the most unpleasant part about my job. I like collaborating and getting ideas from others which is harder to do over the phone with a journeyworker who is also working on their own thing. I'm learning to trust myself more and just do the work while building relationships with the people I work with so it's easier to call them and just shoot the shit down the road. I also call other fitters I don't necessarily work with, but who I know like talking over the phone. It's nice to have a remote buddy while you change filters.  

Work wear recommendations?

For service fitters who have to go onto the roof in deep snow (no one ever shovels the roofs!) I would say waterproof hunting boots (most any variety) and have a liner glove under your heavier gloves. The Carhartt men's extremes bibs are also great, so many pockets, waterproof, warm. I also really like my fleece lined dovetail pants.

What advice would you give someone starting out?

Be ready to make mistakes and try to not spiral into self-doubt over your abilities. I have been told time and time again that if you're not screwing something up, you're not learning.