Jason B.
I originally went to school to be an accountant. But I wasn’t quite ready to be in an office setting back then and found working with my hands and being outside was what I loved. I took a job at Windemuller because I was looking for a large company to work for after relocating to Michigan from North Carolina. That was 2014. I came in as a journeyman, worked various construction jobs, helped out with service, and spent a year providing traffic signal maintenance. About two years after getting hired, I was offered the opportunity to become a foreman and was doing that until recently accepting a new position as a project manager.
Being in the trade for 16 years I have been able to see many large jobs get built. I have developed all of the necessary skills needed to build a project and have been surrounded by great teachers at Windemuller to help nurture those skills. I have realized how big of an impact those people had in my life, teaching me how to do the job right. Now, it is my turn to be one of those teachers. I knew as a foreman I could show guys in the field what I had learned but was still only able to have an impact on a few guys at a time. Now being a project manager, I can help develop the foremen in our company, especially the younger ones, which will then trickle down to the guys on their jobs.
Windemuller always looks to create growth from within. It works with employees to fit you in where you feel most comfortable or where you want to learn a new skill. Project managers must communicate with everyone in order to successfully estimate, plan, coordinate, and build a construction job. Being on the other side of a project has been eye-opening. In the field you can have blinders on, only concerned with the conduit you’re installing, or wire you’re pulling. You don’t realize it truly takes a village to even get to that point of a project. I am enjoying being a part of the bigger picture and continue to soak up every detail of the construction process.
While Windemuller is a large company, it feels very personable. When you have questions or are dealing with a situation you’ve never dealt with before, there is always someone to sit down with and talk it over. And it doesn’t stop there. It is a real family at Windemuller. People care about you, and your family. There are interactive wellness challenges, company family outings, and an emphasis on safety programs, which really stress being able to go home to your family every night.