LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Millions of Americans are changing their careers since the pandemic. Many are jumping into all new industries. That's including women moving into male-dominated work. 13 Action News anchor, Tricia Kean, met a local who's proving the ladies can do anything a man can do.
CHANGING WORK ENVIRONMENT
"Things are changing so fast. Why can't the work environment, what society sees as women change as well? We're not just the ones stuck at home," says HVAC installer, Tina Jimenez.
She left her office job to enroll in a trade school back in 2021. She says demand for skilled labor is so high, she was hired while still learning the business.
"I got hired with Goettl in March and I graduated in May. So, I already had a job lined up for about two months before I graduated," says Tina.
Tina says she loves the steady work that comes with good pay.
Numbers from the U.S. Bureau Labor of Statistics show it's true. On Average HVAC installers earn nearly $50,000 annually. Plumbers and Electricians can make even more, at nearly $60,000 a year.
Tina says women just need to believe they can be part of the equation.
"I don't know if this is going to be for me. Can I even do this? Well, you won't know unless you try," says Tina.
"We have had entire classes that have gotten hired prior to their graduation," says Derek NeSmith, Campus Director at National Technical Institute or NTI in Henderson.
He says contractors are scooping up his students on a regular basis.
"Just this morning had a contractor show up unannounced saying, I need bodies... I need a body now. He said the first one, literally the first one that applies gets hired," says NeSmith.
HVAC, PLUMBING & ELECTRICAL
Just like Tina, many of those getting hired are women. And NeSmith says he's seeing more women enroll in NTI courses, including A/C and Heating, plumbing and electrical.
"All of our female students that come here, they are pleasantly surprised by how easily they pick it up. They think it would be much harder, much more difficult. In a lot of instances, they are the number one student in some of the classes," says NeSmith.
Best of all, he says there's always room for advancement.
"There are opportunities later where you can become shift managers, shift leads and other with the company itself," says NeSmith.
He also says many go on to start their own businesses.
Tina says there's so much potential and women are more than capable. It all starts with the right state of mind.
"It's all about just putting that motivation, that work ethic, having that mentality," says Tina.
Plus, she admits there's one other benefit she never considered, her health. Tina says she's lost 30 pounds thanks to her new labor-intensive job.
"Yeah! I mean, these are a new pair of pants, as you can tell. I had to buy new ones because my ones I wore yesterday were just falling down," says Tina.
