Career Interview By Nathan Martin With: Andy Martin – Sheet Metal Technician

What do you do for a living?  I am a Sheet Metal Technician. I install duct work and heating style machinery, HVAC outfits etc.

How many jobs have you had and what were they?  I have had a variety of jobs ranging from carpentry for a few years, sanitation for a year, janitorial for a couple of months, automotive technician for various different time periods, roofing for fifteen years and currently into sheet metal for almost three years now.

What advice would you give someone trying to enter your field of work?  Anyone trying to enter my field of work, I strongly advise you to stay in school, get you proper education, follow the blocks and proceed to your journeymen. Don’t stop until you get your journeymen!  A journeymen is the top of the line. They are the ones who call the shots in my field of expertise.

What training did you require for your work?  I personally did not require much training for my field of work because I sort of fell into it. I started off with the company as a hired hand, just a strong back, and then it just branched down from there. Then I went to help out a few people doing refrigeration. After that I got traded within the company to the sister company to do the duct work on different job sites.

Is this the type of job you wanted as a child? Why?  No, this is not particularly the type of job I wanted as a child. I would much rather prefer anything in demolition field, something with explosives, but it is hard to find something like that. I would have liked this area because it is something that I enjoy.

Have you had to travel for work? Where? Did you enjoy it?  I have had to travel for work in the last couple of years. I had to go to Port Sanders, nice little place, but I got stuck up there for a while. I also worked in Port Aux Choix and got stuck there for a week because of high winds. I had a nice job up in Labrador driving a scissor lift on the main road. That was awesome! I also worked in various other places around the province. It’s nice to see the different scenery but I would rather be closer to home.

Do you enjoy your work? Why?  I do enjoy aspects of my work because I get to make a lot of noise and I get to use interesting machinery. However, there are aspects of my job that just get monotonous and routine, such as doing the same things over and over.

Is there any risk of injury at your job? How?  There is always a risk of injury at any job. There is a slightly higher risk of injury at my job, from falling from heights, to getting cut by the sheet metal that you are using. There is always dangers you have to be aware of.

In the event of an injury what procedures are in place to take care of it?  There are procedures put in place in case of injuries. All the proper steps are laid out for you. First you notify the supervisor, then if necessary, call 911 and secure the scene. However there are steps in place to prevent such accidents from happening and as long as you follow those rules, it keeps injuries to a minimum.

What kinds of things do you do in your work? Explain  Mostly, I put together and install duct work and that ranges from having to put it in different places to allow for insulation because some of it has to be insulated on the inside and some on the outside. It all depends on the particular aspect of the job.

Are you required to wear a uniform or any other safety equipment? Why?  No, not so much a uniform, everyday clothes are fine. However I do have to wear personal protective equipment at all times, such as a hard hat, safety vest, glasses and gloves. Work boots are necessary for any construction site.

Do you work inside or outside? What do you do there?  Most of the time my job requires me to work inside where I am running ventilation through different buildings, but sometimes I do have to work outside on the different machines to place equipment on the roofs, etc.

Do you have to deal with the public while working? If so what do you do with them?  Sometimes I do have be around the public. When around them, I need to run cation tape to protect them from falling objects. If we are using the crane, it is especially necessary to secure the area so that no one gets injured.

Did you go to post-secondary? Where and what did you study?  No, my highest level of education was actually high school I didn’t pursue secondary education because I already had a job.

What are three things you like about your job? Why?  Well the pay is fairly good but it could always be better. Traveling at times is nice because you get to see different places, but as I said before I would prefer to work near home. I have a fine crew of people that I work with that makes the job easier and more enjoyable.

Would you recommend this job to others? Why?  At this time I would recommend this job to others because right now there seems to be a high demand for this type of work. If anybody is looking for work this would be a good field for them because there is a lot of demand for this area.

Is your job difficult? Why?  My job is not so much difficult as it is frustrating because if you get parts that do not fit or if someone changes the blueprints so that your duct work doesn’t possibly fit where it’s supposed to go, then you have to get a change in the order.

Did you work during high school? If so at what? And how long?  I was working during high school. While there was when I worked in carpentry and automotive and roofing. This happened mostly during my last year of school.

What brought you to work at your current job?  I was actually doing roofing and a friend of mine asked me to go for an interview and the company made me an offer I could not refuse so I went back and gave my notice to my current employer at the time and moved on from there

What’s the best and worst experiences you have had at your work?  Some of the best experiences I have had involve having the satisfaction of getting a job completed on time which makes everybody happy or when I’m travelling around the province. That also comes down to some of the worst times. Some of the worst times involve the feeling of being pushed because I don’t have the job completed on time or spending too much time away from home.