Nathanael M.
“My story in the electrical trades started back in high school, when I enrolled as a student in the CNET program (CNET stands for “Computers, Networking, and Electronics Technology”) at the Career Technical Center in Cadillac, Michigan. My initial thought, at the time, was that I wanted to pursue a career working with micro-electronics.
That aspiration led me to Ferris State University, where I got two years into an engineering degree (and even landed a part-time job at an engineering firm) before realizing that the work I was doing didn’t line up with what I wanted to do. I did some soul searching, and even took a trip back home to visit the Career Technical Center and talk with my old teachers. They told me about an electrical program at Michigan State University, which was basically an electrical apprenticeship program. I decided to change gears, transfer colleges, and give it a go.
Around the same time that I finished out my degree at MSU, I heard from my mom, who had met the operations manager here at Windemuller. They were hiring in Traverse City, looking specifically for electricians and apprentices. I applied, got a job offer, and the rest was history.
Before I knew it, I’d been working for Windemuller for five years. That realization got me thinking more about the big picture of what I want my career to look like, and inspired me to put in for a promotion to an electrical estimator position. Now, I’m in the process of learning the ropes of the new job, and mastering the art of estimating jobs properly and making sure Windemuller is getting the best price for the work we do.
Long-term, my goal is to get involved in the engineering and detailing departments here, so that I can work on design-builds for our projects. That’s actually the work that I wanted to do when I first got involved in this career path, and it’s great to feel like I work for an employer that cares about those types of goals and is willing to invest in me to help me get there. Windemuller is the first company I’ve ever worked for that has really prioritized my interest in bettering myself and developing new knowledge and skills. I think that’s why, after five years here, I have no thoughts of wanting to look elsewhere for new opportunities. Mostly, I’m just looking forward to the next five years.”