Joseph A.

My aunt was actually a welder. And so this is back in the nineties and there weren't a lot of women in the field and she's working for the US Navy and when I got older I didn't want to go to college and she said I can go into a trade and, you know, make good money. So she suggested it and then, I followed through.

So when you're in school you're just trying to learn how to weld, how to form two pieces of metal into one - that's the first thing. And so there's different types of welding for different jobs and so All-State, you know, they just gave us a little bit of everything. They taught us a little of every type of welding so we got into the field, we were prepared. So when I got into the field out of All-State I was more prepared than some guys who are already working because I had learned so many different things. 

Growing up in school, you know, we are already like precondition to think “we have to go to college” and “we have to do this to make good money,” but I know guys who are in trades that are making $80,000-$100,000 a year in my company that I work for now. But people don’t, you know, don't focus on that and just think they have to go to college because that's what they’re told. But you can make a lot of money in the trades and have stability and take care of your family and have a good life. So All-State helped me do that because I got with All-State I was able to learn a skill that I cannot just take to a job, but I can also become my own boss one day and start my own company.

This skill no one can ever take away from you. Your job can be taken from you, but your skills can’t mso that's what I was provided by coming to All-State and that's how I changed my life and was able to financially make me independent. 

I think I'm most excited about buying a house. That's like, my number one goal. I’m just excited about the fact that I was able to learn these skills and one day I can be an entrepreneur from what I learned here and I can, you know, I build a nice lifefor  my family.