Yadira Raygoza Silva
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Yadira Raygoza, a 26-year-old construction worker. This essay has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider verified her identity, employment, and hourly pay rate.
I applied to an electrical construction apprenticeship with IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, when I was 19.
I never expected to go into electrical construction, but I started a family early and I wanted to pursue my own personal goals while having a flexible schedule.
My brother joined the program and after hearing about how he was able to start a career without having to go through four years of college followed by debt, I decided to do the same.
The apprenticeship takes several years and involves schooling while working. My hourly rate has increased based on my experience and hours worked. In the last year, I made $53 an hour and worked five days a week. I also attended night school in the evening twice a week for three hours, and every other Saturday while studying for exams.
I've been on maternity leave for the last month, but I passed my state exam, so when I return I'll make $63 an hour.
I've had to juggle having a family, studying, and working for the last five years — and it's also a pretty physically demanding job.
Commercial work requires pulling wire for pretty big gear and panels for metro stations. It's a big wire to pull for long destinations. We also land the wire into panels and run a lot of RMC/PVC conduits for station communication, power, and lighting systems, including underground work.
The work involves a lot of pushing, carrying, crawling, and ladder work. We also have to do calculations sometimes. Being familiar with the Pythagorean theorem and SOHCAHTOA will make installations easier. Algebra II is also needed for wire pulling and other electrical calculations.
The job also involves a lot of specific language regarding materials, tasks, tools, safety, and work planning. There's a lot to keep track of and changes within each work project, such as materials and installations.
In over five years of working in this field, there have been other women employed on projects, but they are very few, and I've personally never worked with one.
The guys are great, but it's an adjustment to work with all men. They can come off as rougher even if they're not trying to be. I've had to learn to distinguish different tones and it's given me thicker skin and helped me work on my emotional intelligence.
We need more female representation in this field though.
Right now, I'm pregnant, and in California, you can go on leave starting at 36 weeks. But considering the kind of work we do, I wouldn't encourage someone who's seven months pregnant to be on a ladder.
I usually start work at 5 a.m., have two breaks, and finish at 1:30 p.m. in time to pick up my son at 2:30 p.m. Then I take him to practice, cook dinner, and spend the evening with him before I go to bed around 10 p.m.
I also spend weekends with my family which is important to us.
If I had taken the college route, I would have come out with at least $30,000 in debt. I also would have had to do internships and get low pay for experience. A lot of my friends my age are struggling with expenses.
I'm grateful for the apprenticeship because I've been able to keep up with our expenses and was able to buy a house at 25, which I cosigned with my mother-in-law.
The other nice part about the program is there are a lot of companies within it. If I were to get laid off, I could go to the port of the apprenticeship and get dispatched to another company.
I also find parts of the job satisfying. I like being able to go through the process of building something — not only seeing it happen but being hands-on with it is very satisfying. It's something that I enjoy a lot, and it's part of what has kept me around.
