José Leon says he never would have become an electrician
if he hadn’t been a cab driver first. When he came
to the US from El Salvador, he drove a cab for many years.
He was very friendly, so he had lots of opportunities to
practice his English by talking with customers.
About 6 years ago, José was talking to one of his
customers about his career in El Salvador. He has a degree
in engineering and had a very good job back at home. His
customer said he should try to get a job as an engineer
in the US, but José said it would be many years before
his English would be good enough to take engineering courses.
The customer wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was
an electrician and suggested José try that line of
work instead. He also told José that his company
was always looking for more people.
José decided to give it a try. He found a program
at a community college where he could get an Associate’s
Degree in Electrical Engineering in just two years. He was
surprised at how easy the program was for him, once he got
used to the new vocabulary. He had already passed courses
in physics, chemistry, and principles of electricity back
in El Salvador, so he quickly became the best student in
his class.
The career counseling office at José’s school
connected him with an electrical contractor who took him
on as an apprentice. José learned to wire houses,
apartments, and businesses. He started out running cables
and connecting outlets and fixtures. Now he’s a licensed
electrician.
As a licensed electrician, José calculates how much
electricity is needed, designs circuits, and creates wiring
plans for projects. He’s in the union, so he’s
protected. He also gets retirement benefits and the pay
is very good.
”I really like my job and the people I work with,”
José says. “I always joke with them and tell
them they should pay me extra. Whenever they need to get
to a new job site, they always ask me for directions!”
José
Leon
