Q: What drew you to becoming a tech engineer?

“Honestly, I had no idea what a tech engineer was before Chicago Women in Trades. On the first day of WBI, our teacher asked if anyone knew what a tech engineer does in the trades, and no one did. They encouraged us to take the test anyway—partly for practice before the apprenticeship aptitude test. I had already applied to the electricians, so I figured, why not?

“It’s basically surveying. At my company, we do work for industrial, civil, and commercial sites, looking for property corners—almost everything. Some days I’m in an empty field, other days I’m on a busy construction site. It’s a lot of math (angles and geometry), and I’ve always loved math. I knew going into the trades that I wanted something math-related.

“The more I learn, the more I think it’s one of the coolest jobs. It feels powerful to be the person who helps all the other trades: ‘This is where you need to work from. This is your elevation. This is your grade.’ It’s such an important job.”

Q: How did you find Chicago Women in Trades?

“I was researching ways to get into the electrician’s program. I saw that Chicago Women in Trades had openings for the WBI program. I went in with an open mind. If there was another trade that was really cool, I’d consider it.

“I like that they prepare you for the test specifically, which is what I really needed. I had no idea what I was walking into, but I was just researching ways to get an advantage because I knew I wanted to get into the trades.”

Q: What was most valuable about your experience in WBI?

“The discipline. I was unemployed for a bit before WBI, and the program really woke me up. I had to focus in class, and when I got home, I had to maintain the same discipline—making sure I was caught up on homework, ready for the next day, and prepared to succeed. They treat it like an apprenticeship program.

“I started committing to everything, both mentally and physically — with the workouts, and mentally with the math. I had to find my weaknesses and fix them.

“That discipline pays off now in my apprenticeship. Being able to focus, ask the right questions, understand the terms and have general industry knowledge. You have to learn things on the fly, and you have to learn as much as you can while you’re an apprentice before you journey out.

“ And being able to quickly find answers when numbers are multiplied or divided by tens or hundreds. That stuff has really helped me in the field.”

Q: What surprised you most during training?

“My resilience, probably. I remember when we did material handling—it was really tough. Some things were so heavy, and we were tired. I could see other people kind of met their limits, and that happens.

“I was going through so much emotionally and physically, and I couldn’t believe I came out of each day as a better person—and especially out of the program as a better person. CWIT showed me that I have resilience. I did not realize that.”

Q: What does a typical workday look like?

“There are some jobs as a surveyor where we’re out before any construction work is done at all. We’ll be staking out where the gas line is, where the easements are—things everyone’s going to need to know before they start working.

“Those days in the middle of a field where there’s literally nobody around, just empty farm areas or being out in nature in the middle of nowhere—those are the days I like most. It’s just cool to be out there by yourself, where you can focus on yourself and your job.

“We go in with a plan, we know what we’re staking, and the office gives us our points. Then we have to find them. Sometimes we use GPS, sometimes we use the robot. I’m familiar with both now, so I can check and find the point.

“We get our equipment out, come up with a plan, then I help set it up. It’s always the same process to start: there’s a planning phase, then we go find our control or check in, and then do whatever we have to do. The actual job is usually easy, as long as nothing goes wrong. It’s pretty straightforward—lots of walking, lots of hiking. A typical day is like 20,000 steps, easily.”