Insider Info

Linda Dupuis-Fricke is a bit of an oddity in the sheet metal industry.

Not only is she a woman in a profession dominated by men, but she is also the president of a sheet metal company in Washington state.

She pursued this career back in a time she describes as the "old days when a woman's career options were either nursing or teaching."

But she chose to buck the trend and train in mechanical drafting. Her first job opportunity out of school came from a sheet metal company. And the rest, as they say, is history.

One of Dupuis-Fricke's chief employees is also a woman. Gay Schmidt-Larimer didn't really want a career as a sheet metal worker, but decided to pursue an apprenticeship program in the industry because the work paid well and seemed secure.

"I had no idea what sheet metal work was. I thought it was dirty factory work."

But she soon learned that wasn't the case. "The work is never dull. Every job is like a big puzzle and you have to make it work. It's fascinating."

Sheet metal worker and computer-aided drafting design (CAD) operator Ryan Gudorf says a job in this field means you can pat yourself on the back pretty much every day.

"A job is needed, and when it's done it's actually something you can stand back and appreciate," he says. "Unlike most office jobs, you can look on buildings you've worked on years earlier, and tell people, 'I helped build that.'"

Gudorf did one project that makes him particularly proud -- one he worked on for Martin-Marietta, a company responsible for building components of the new space station.

"I actually participated in fabricating aluminum parts that are going to be flying around in space someday," he says enthusiastically. "That's pretty exciting."

It's not always such a glamorous job, however. Gudorf says he worked at an animal rendering plant, where the leftovers from a slaughterhouse are processed into animal feed and dog food. "Nasty and smelly," he says. It was his least favorite project.

As well, there are many overtime hours put in on holiday weekends.

The good news is that he gets paid double on overtime hours.

The pay isn't what initially attracted Gudorf to this field. "My father was a VP for a sheet metal company," he says.

Gudorf put in five years as a sheet metal apprentice, as well as an additional two years at community college for CAD. "A good math background is essential," he says. But he adds that if your math skills aren't the greatest, the apprenticeship programs teach you everything you need to know.

Other essential skills are having a desire to work with your hands, problem-solving ability and general people skills.

Mike Paul says concentration is an important part of working as a sheet metal worker. His concentration was put to the test recently when he had to install kitchen equipment in Kent Prison.

"I was installing something in the prison kitchen. The inmates were all around, and we had a guard with us. There were outlines drawn around the kitchen knives on the walls so the guards would know if any were missing. It was pretty strange," says Paul.

When he took a job cleaning up in a sheet metal shop, Paul had no idea he'd wind up in a lucrative trade.

"One of my buddies found me a job and I started working in the back room, cleaning up. I thought the work looked really interesting, so I asked them to put me on an apprenticeship program and they did," says Paul.

Even though his friend helped him get a foot in the door, Paul recommends a pre-apprenticeship course as a good way to get started in the trade. A pre-apprenticeship course is a short program that gives you some basic information about a trade and shows a prospective employer that you're really committed to learning.

"It takes about six months, but it's the best way to break into the trade if you don't know anyone," says Paul. He spent four years as an apprentice, taking classroom training for six weeks out of every year.

Now, Paul is a journeyman (certified) sheet metal worker. He works as a fabricator, helping to make stainless steel products like sinks, canopies and tables for restaurants.

Aside from nicks and cuts, which are common when you're working with sheets of metal, Paul enjoys the work. He says this is important in doing well.

"You've got to like what you're doing. You want to be proud of what you put out. But it takes concentration and patience, because it's really finicky work," says Paul. "The concentration has to be there because we do custom work. It's not like working on an assembly line; every piece is different."

Paul's job involves cutting sheets of stainless steel to exact shapes, and then drilling and forming the pieces together. He says there's even less room for error in this type of sheet metal work than there is in other areas like roofing and ventilation.

"If we're out a 16th of an inch, the piece is no good. I think there's more room for error in other types of sheet metal work," says Paul.

Paul spends most of his time in the shop, although he gets some calls to work on out-of-town projects. It only happens occasionally, but it can be tough because he has to cancel plans.

Like a lot of sheet metal workers, Paul takes home a pretty decent paycheck.

"I like the work and I really like pay day," he jokes.

While Paul enjoys his job, his real dream is to start his own business. Very few sheet metal workers are self-employed, mainly because of the high cost of buying equipment and tools. Despite that, Paul and a partner have been making plans to open their own shop. They hope to be in business for themselves within a year.

Paul describes the prospect as scary and exciting.

"I'll have to quit my other job, but at the same time I'll know what I'm doing every day, where I'll be going, and I won't have to kowtow to anyone -- except my customers, of course," he says.

Meanwhile, Paul is busy working a 40-hour week in the shop, and developing budgets and business plans at home in his spare time.

He jokes about all this hard work paying off when he becomes a wealthy contractor.

"Who knows? Maybe in 10 years I'll be a retired millionaire!"