Flip the Switch: A Career in Electrical Trades

In this episode of the Tech Times Podcast we sit down with Robert Neil, electrical trades instructor at Tulsa Tech's Sand Springs campus, to pull back the curtain on a career path that's in serious demand. From OSHA safety certifications and mastering wire colors to live work projects see what our students are mastering. Plus find out how he made his way to a career in the electrical trades.

Transcript

Announcer: [00:00:00] From Tulsa Tech, helping you make your own path with insights and information about the world of career training, the Tech Times Podcast starts right now. 

Ryan Williams (host): Hey, everyone, welcome to the Tech Times podcast. I'm your host, Ryan Williams. When you flip a switch, you expect that light to come on, but to make that happen, everything must be wired just right.

Ryan Williams (host): And at our San Springs campus where we're visiting today, we train students how to wire fix and troubleshoot a wide array of issues in our electrical trades program. Here to tell us all about it is our instructor, Mr. Robert Neil. Robert, thanks for joining us. 

Robert Neil: Thank you for inviting me. 

Ryan Williams (host): So your program is a nine month, half day for adults, basically August through May for both high school and adult students.

Ryan Williams (host): What are a few of the skills that students learn while they're here? 

Robert Neil: Once they've cleared the OSHA training and safety for the shop that every program does, we start [00:01:00] with basic skills that they're gonna need first, which is really how to terminate wire and identify certain wire colors. 'Cause those are actually the last things they get left with on the job site to do because it takes so much training.

Robert Neil: So we give that to them first so they become valuable right away. But they quickly learn how to understand how to read diagrams. Follow diagrams and troubleshoot those circuits as they wire them. 

Ryan Williams (host): So let's revisit that early on safety training. What does all that entail? 

Robert Neil: The OSHA 10 construction, it'll focus on what they call the focus for.

Robert Neil: So the first one's gonna be falls. That's what will get most people the simple trips and falls. The second one's, electrocution third is caught in or caught between. And then the final one is struck by. 

Robert Neil: So it'll focus on those first. Those are the hazards most likely to occur. In fact, in my career, the only ones I have actually seen that were fatal, were falls from people not following directions.

Robert Neil: Safety protocol. 

Ryan Williams (host): What's one tool [00:02:00] that every new electrician should become comfortable with early on? 

Robert Neil: Ladders. 

Ryan Williams (host): Oh, yeah, 

Robert Neil: ladders. You spend a lot of time on ladders and it takes a lot of, good balance and not. You have to not have a fear of heights. We do go up to 12 foot step ladders, sometimes 16, and then you have equipment that goes higher.

Robert Neil: But the stepladders I've noticed students will have trouble with if they're not used to a lot of outdoor activities. Physical activities. 

Ryan Williams (host): How do you overcome that fear of heights? 

Robert Neil: You have to spend more time on them going up and down and balancing, doing performing work While you're on it, 

Ryan Williams (host): Mr.

Ryan Williams (host): Neil, what's a mistake that beginners often make when they first start working with electrical systems? 

Robert Neil: They fail to recognize the colors and what they represent in our wire. So the primary colors they run into right away is a three wire system, and that'll have a black wire, a white wire, and a green wire.

Robert Neil: And they will fail to recognize the importance of each one and what they represent. And so they will. Not connect those correctly. 

Ryan Williams (host): If I'm [00:03:00] tinkering around in my house and I see those three wires, what do they mean? 

Robert Neil: The black is typically gonna be the hot or ungrounded wire. White is gonna be what we call the neutral or grounded conductor, and then the green is gonna be the equipment ground, but that's typical.

Robert Neil: What changes is that white wire frequently will change. It can be re-identified as a hot wire. And that's where a lot of confusion comes in is when it can happen. And, 

Ryan Williams (host): While they're in the program, do students earn certifications? 

Robert Neil: They do. The first one, and really to me is the most important is that OSHA 10 card, because that's required to get on a job site.

Robert Neil: They can't have that, they cannot step off foot on the job until they have that. So that's really the first one, the most important. We still do first aid CPR with them. Again, even if they have it, I know it's required in high school, even if they've had it. Right before they get to our class, we make 'em take it because for our trait specifically, that's important.

Robert Neil: If someone does come in contact with a circuit, you may, need to perform CPR on that person until their heart could be put back in [00:04:00] rhythm. It doesn't happen very common, but it is more of a risk for us. Those are the two primary one. Then they also have the opportunity to do two of the competency exams with the state, which are the work.

Robert Neil: Construction trainee and the residential electrical assistant, 

Ryan Williams (host): how do those assist those students getting jobs in the industry? 

Robert Neil: The primary thing, they're gonna actually help with I wouldn't say the last two, help them get a job. It will help them, the prep work that they do for them will help them with their.

Robert Neil: Journeyman exam that will be down the road because the type of prep, the electrical code and the reference book that we use are two books that they'll have to become familiar with those, to pass those exams. So it's really a trial run for that. 

Ryan Williams (host): When students finish the program, do they generally start as an apprentice?

Robert Neil: They will be an apprentice. It'll depend on the company. Some companies will start them as a, what they call apprentice, year two. Some will still consider them apprentice year one, but they will have to complete a four year [00:05:00] apprenticeship either way, which entails, a minimum of 8,000 hours, and that can be up to 2000 hours of that can be education.

Ryan Williams (host): Wow, that's cool. Where do they go from there? Once they test, once they get through their apprenticeship. 

Robert Neil: Once they get through the apprenticeship, once they can prove those hours, there's an application with the construction industry boards of Oklahoma. They fill that application out. They have to have the hours verified, so school hours are transcripted.

Robert Neil: Those are verified. That way each employer they've worked for will have to verify their hours. That gets sent into the CIB, then the CIB will approve those hours after they review them and then they get to sit and take a test. They pass that test. It's a hundred questions in four hours and that'll be a code intensive class as well as some of the job site knowledge that we have.

Robert Neil: At that point, they become a licensed journeyman and. That's the next step if they wanna become a contractor as well. 

Ryan Williams (host): Yeah. So they, then they can move on to own their own business or work for another company [00:06:00] or freelance or 

Robert Neil: Correct. After they will need another two years as a licensed journeyman, so another 4,000 hours minimum.

Robert Neil: And that puts them at the threshold where they could then turn around and apply again with the CIB for an unlimited electrical license. 

Ryan Williams (host): Wow. That's cool. Are there any specialties? I'm just curious, are there any specialties within the trade that students can explore beyond a. The generalized journeymen 

Robert Neil: there are there's even what we call low voltage, like Mr.

Robert Neil: Hall's class electronic control systems. We overlap. A lot of companies will do both. It's inter, they intermix both. And then there's just specialties within those. We recently met somebody through Mrs. Kirk, our counselor his name is Brian, peace with Noval Co. And they specialize in doors, but along with that comes low voltage control work.

Robert Neil: It is electrical. We placed one student here recently as for WBL, in that position. And he was amazed at all just how specialized and different that is. And that's just a little [00:07:00] piece. And again, with ours, there be, and 

Ryan Williams (host): you're talking those sliding doors 

Robert Neil: that Yeah, they 

Ryan Williams (host): businesses and things 

Robert Neil: and like we are having installed here where they have access control.

Ryan Williams (host): Yeah. 

Robert Neil: It'll vary. And it's highly specialized in a niche. We have students that may just do emergency power. It could be where they go into disaster areas and just do power generation, temporary power generation. 

Ryan Williams (host): Gotcha. Wow. That's cool. What is the career outlook for students? What are you seeing in the job market as people graduate from the program?

Robert Neil: We have more jobs than we have students. Especially when you consider. The only ones I can actually place full-time are gonna be seniors that are completing, or high school, or I'm sorry adults that are completing that can go to work. We have nowhere near the capacity to fill the need. This year at open house.

Robert Neil: One company alone offered, they wanted to hire every student that graduated this year. 

Announcer: Wow. 

Robert Neil: And that's one company. 

Announcer: Yeah, 

Robert Neil: we're running into that more and more. We have another. Person on our [00:08:00] industry partnership that they need to hire 50 apprentices this year. So there's not enough completers through the program to fill those needs.

Ryan Williams (host): Yeah. And we have through the career tech system across the state, obviously we have more electrical programs, but even then we're not meeting demand, it sounds like 

Robert Neil: we're not. 

Ryan Williams (host): Yeah. We're doing our best. Yes. We certainly are training 'em well and our students do a ton of live work projects in the community and have been very involved in a project over at Eden Village, which is a community helping people conquer homelessness.

Ryan Williams (host): So what are the benefits for students working on projects like those? 

Robert Neil: Those are, that to me, that's like just the perfect. Live work because they get to practice what they are learning here in an environment that's real. I can't duplicate everything in the lab no matter how I try. You cannot. So when we go out on that job site, that live site, they encounter things that I can't duplicate very well here.

Robert Neil: Even down to scheduling conflicts or weather [00:09:00] problems. They get to help the community so that particular project is, there to serve the chronically homeless to try to help them become housed. So they get to see how they can reach out to people that are in need in their community, identify them.

Robert Neil: And it just brings a lot of pride and joy, I think, to them to see their work benefit people. And like I said, they get to see a lot of things I could not duplicate here in the lab. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. What's an example of something that you couldn't duplicate? 

Robert Neil: Yesterday on the project, we had a. A pull rope, break on a pull on a ground from a, from an error.

Robert Neil: We talk about those things, but when they actually see that error occur and then the steps we had to do to correct it, that will stick with them much longer than me explaining to them and showing them how that could happen. 

Ryan Williams (host): What a great learning moment. 

Robert Neil: Yeah, that's, I told them, 

Ryan Williams (host): You always learned more from your failure.

Robert Neil: I, and I actually had planned that one. Just kidding. Yeah. 

Ryan Williams (host): That's 

Robert Neil: awesome. 

Ryan Williams (host): Obviously many times when the electrician shows up [00:10:00] it's because something's not working. How do you equip students to handle that side of the equation, like all the troubleshooting and maybe some customer service in case somebody's upset when you show up?

Robert Neil: So in, in the lab we will cover troubleshooting and I can duplicate many of the scenarios they're gonna encounter and teach 'em how to use their, the voltage meters and testers that we use so that they can troubleshoot. And then we've. I've changed in about the last eight years how they energize projects.

Robert Neil: So instead of using one 20 or two 40 that they would encounter. I've, I use low voltage 24 volts, so we can still duplicate. They still are practicing, but allows 'em to troubleshoot much faster because I don't have to stand there with them. I can still assist, but I don't have to stand there with one individual.

Robert Neil: While it's energized for safety, they can all be energized at once. 

Ryan Williams (host): It's not an incredibly high hazard, 

Robert Neil: right? They're not gonna get shocked. They're not gonna burn anything, so it lets them troubleshoot much faster. So everything that they encounter that does not work, they have to troubleshoot. On their [00:11:00] own with my help, but they have to do it to get their projects to work.

Ryan Williams (host): You're still gonna realize it's incorrect, but 

Robert Neil: Correct. Yes. They work on you, correct? Yeah. But that's probably the best troubleshooting they get, is when their project doesn't work, it's trying to locate the problem, and I keep broken devices on purpose for that reason, too. Sure. I don't mark 'em, I put 'em back in the mix and they appear.

Robert Neil: So one way or another, they're gonna have an error, whether it's their fault or a defective piece of equipment. 

Ryan Williams (host): Do you ever hear like a ah, or whatever? 

Robert Neil: It happens on occasion, yes. That's, and then on the customer side, we do encounter some issues out there, even on the live work projects. And I explain to them how to deal with those customers that they're there, we're there to help them they're, they're gonna be upset.

Robert Neil: We've had demands made of us that we couldn't meet and you just, they watch me explain to people how, what we're able to do and not able to do, and teach them not to take responsibility for things that's not their responsible. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. Okay. And your students are involved in Skills, USA, which is a career tech student organization.

Ryan Williams (host): What does that add to the curriculum? 

Robert Neil: That really helps add to the [00:12:00] professionalism side. They'll stress the professionalism through skills, USA how they can take on leadership roles. So inside the shop or the classroom, we will have we'll assign crew leaders. So we break them up into groups like we do on a job site.

Robert Neil: So there's six to seven students in a crew. And they their trainers and job boxes are in a row. And one of those students will become that crew leader. So we'll have three crew leaders. A-M-M-P-M Skills, USA teaches teamwork, leadership. And that's what Skills USA emphasizes and that helps us with that structure.

Robert Neil: And then we offer that opportunity for them to lead and enter into different competitions. At the state level. They'd like to. 

Ryan Williams (host): And that's those scenarios where there's a team lead in six or seven groups, that's how, what they're gonna encounter on a job site, right? 

Robert Neil: Yes. We even have one person that will choose to be the, what we call the shop foreman or the lead for the whole entire shop.

Robert Neil: So you have one student that's directing all of them and they'll be three underneath them and then I tell them I'm the owner of the [00:13:00] company. So we arrange it like that. Similar with the encounter on the job site. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. What are some of the things that make a student a good fit for the program and this type of work?

Robert Neil: Someone that, they need to be physical, they need to have good body mechanics, like to work with their hands, obviously. Good tinkerer. 'cause we do a lot of troubleshooting. We encounter a lot of different equipment that, even me with my experience, I have to look at instructions. I have to read these things because.

Robert Neil: Th they'll be very specific. So they have to be inquisitive troubleshooters problem solvers, and get along good with the, with crews, because in our trade specifically, we work in groups because of the hazards we don't work alone. 

Ryan Williams (host): Good communication skills probably is important. 

Robert Neil: Very important.

Ryan Williams (host): Yeah. 

Robert Neil: Especially when there's safety. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. 

Robert Neil: One of the biggest things that we have that communication's critical is when we do wire pulls right down to the how they set it up, and they'll frequently use radios [00:14:00] because when that's happening, the people feeding wire on one side are at a great risk. So we have to have good communication, clear communication, and it has to be solid.

Ryan Williams (host): I'm curious, can you succeed in this program if you've never picked up a tool before 

Robert Neil: you can? 

Robert Neil: We've had different ranges of skill from people that don't have any experience at all, haven't touched a tool before. It would definitely help if they had. But if they are still inclined to, to work with their hands and are willing to learn, don't mind getting sweaty.

Robert Neil: Don't mind getting cold, dirty they usually will exceed in this program. 

Ryan Williams (host): Yeah. What surprises most students when they start? 

Robert Neil: I think the amount of technical aspect to the trade that we have. When they learn about our codes and the requirements and the calculations that we do, I think that surprises them the most.

Robert Neil: How much, bookwork, if you wanna call it that, behind the scenes that goes on. To make that light come on correctly. Sure. Make that motor turn the right way. 

Ryan Williams (host): You gotta figure out some math.

Ryan Williams (host): Figure out the ohms and everything else [00:15:00] yes, definitely. Okay, we're gonna take a quick break.

Ryan Williams (host): Mr. Neil, when we come back, I wanna hear more about your journey into the electrical trade and what keeps you passionate about teaching it.

Commercial: What would you do if you only had one life to live? That's how this whole thing works.

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Ryan Williams (host): Okay, everyone, welcome back. We are again joined by our electrical trades instructor, Mr. Robert Neil. So Mr. Neil, let's talk about you. What first pulled you into the trades? 

Robert Neil: I did plumbing through high school with my stepfather, and so I had that [00:16:00] tie to the trades in general. So I was used to doing that type of work in general.

Robert Neil: And I started with a plumbing company right outta high school in the Beverly Hills area, Southern California. Oh wow. Yeah. The contractor was Randall Plumbing, but I lived in South Orange County and that was. More central LA county. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. 

Ryan Williams (host): How was your commute? 

Robert Neil: I actually would drive and stay with, I knew the family, so I actually stayed with the owner's family, had my lunch packed and everything.

Robert Neil: It was great. I'm sure you had to with 

Ryan Williams (host): all that traffic. 

Robert Neil: Yeah. The job was wonderful. We worked on really nice custom homes. It was really pretty area, but I didn't know anyone there. So my best friend became an electrician. The same time I went to work for Randall Plumbing. He went to work for Bayshore Electric.

Robert Neil: And after a few months. I decided I did not wanna move to the LA area. So I went and applied for Bayshore Electric and got a job there. 

Ryan Williams (host): Wow. 

Robert Neil: And that was really what brought me to electrical instead of plumbing. 

Ryan Williams (host): And the journey began. 

Robert Neil: The journey began. Yes. 

Ryan Williams (host): That's awesome. If you weren't an electrician, I think we find this out, but are, but if you weren't an [00:17:00] electrician, what career do you think you might have pursued?

Robert Neil: I don't know for sure. I honestly think for me, for plumbing, it probably would've changed anyways. Because I like to tinker and try new things and not that plumbing's not difficult. It isn't. All the trades are awesome. I wanted something that had a little more variety for me and had, more troubleshooting to do. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. 

Robert Neil: So I think I probably would've went that direction in general and maybe something electronic. I think that was, I remember looking at some high school papers that had that in there about technical work, troubleshooting, 

Ryan Williams (host): like the old Radio Shack 

Robert Neil: catalog or something.

Robert Neil: Yeah. Probably would've been there. Yeah. 

Ryan Williams (host): What are some of the biggest changes you've seen in the electrical industry over the years? 

Robert Neil: I think the, the biggest change to me that stands out is the professionalism. When I started it. S there really was none. To be honest, it was a pretty rough group in construction in general.

Robert Neil: And over the decades that has really changed. And companies, I think more like society, they don't really allow those type of things to go on [00:18:00] the unprofessional behavior. That would be the first thing I've noticed. Change. Second is just the, the different types of the alternative energy that's entered into the market, especially certain markets even in our area.

Robert Neil: And then the ground fault and arc fault that has evolved over time is that has been the biggest change to our code book itself has been arc fault, ground fault protection. 

Ryan Williams (host): What do you mean by that? Explain that for the layman. 

Robert Neil: Sure. So ground fault protection has been around for a long time and this it's electronic devices that will sense any kinda leakage.

Robert Neil: On the wires. So it measures how much current flows on the hot and neutral and ground should be done on the ground. And it should be equal on the hot and neutral. So if it deviates by as small as four milliamps, it'll trip that circuit off. And then they have other type of protection for equipment that's a little bit higher threshold.

Robert Neil: But for human safety, it's a four to six milliamp trip that's been around forever. But they've, as it's become, better that technology. They've spread it to other circuits. So there's very few circuits in a home that [00:19:00] are not ground fault protected. Now, same with arc fault protection. It measures differently.

Robert Neil: It's an electronic device as well, and it measures how much, kinda like the wave pattern, if you wanna call it for electricity. So as you turn things off and on that demand will change up and down, but it shouldn't be erratic. 

Ryan Williams (host): That makes sense. 

Robert Neil: So when it's erratic, you have. A loose connection or maybe a wire that's partly severed, so it causes spikes and dips really quick and that's what causes fires.

Robert Neil: So that technology is just really came around early 2010s and that's now everywhere in the house. 

Ryan Williams (host): Kinda going back to your students, when you think about them in the classroom or in the lab, what's the hardest skill typically for them to master? 

Robert Neil: I think the hardest hands-on skill for them to master is conduit bending.

Robert Neil: It's how we will, we use, when I train them. Mostly we use what we call hand benders and we bend up to one inch, maybe sometimes inch and a quarter pipe. But I'll train 'em mostly on [00:20:00] half and three quarter because it's easier to manipulate and you can understand. I can explain the rules, they can understand the rules, the formulas, but it's hard to get that pipe to come out.

Robert Neil: The way you want it. A lot of eye hand coordination if you want things to be 180 degrees. Offset from each other. That's hard to do by hand rolling and looking at, it's almost like citing a rifle. You're looking down the pipe, you're aligning it with bending marks. And that's very difficult. 

Ryan Williams (host): And all that's determined by blueprints to make those conduits bend the way you want them.

Ryan Williams (host): And so that everything works in the 

Robert Neil: home. It is the blueprints us where to go, but the pipe is all custom. We decide how to run it, how to get there. Gotcha. So how the routing's really difficult to follow. To get the pipe shaped the right way. The more bend you put in a single piece of pipe becomes more difficult to line it.

Robert Neil: It's more air. You have a chance to have an air every time you bend it and not line it up. 

Robert Neil: And that's the part that's the most frustrating. It's like laying brick, I think. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. 

Robert Neil: [00:21:00] You look at a mason and you watch some lay brick, it's oh, that looks easy. I can do that. Keep it level, keep it plumb.

Robert Neil: It's incredibly hard. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. 

Robert Neil: It's incredibly hard. 

Ryan Williams (host): Yes, it's, yes, it is. On the flip side, what usually clicks faster than they might expect? 

Robert Neil: I think the, they'll, they're surprised how quick they can get a light to come on. And that's usually, you'll see 'em smile. The circuit works, the light comes on.

Robert Neil: They're excited about how easy it is to wire those devices up and follow a simple circuit when it's the simplest. Simple set of circuits and prints we're following. 

Ryan Williams (host): You don't ever do the little experiments like we did in middle school with like potatoes and turn a light on? I 

Robert Neil: do not. It's a 

Ryan Williams (host): little 

Robert Neil: more advanced.

Robert Neil: Yeah. I'm assuming they've already done that, so yeah, we may talk about that, but no. Yeah. 

Ryan Williams (host): We all know the danger of electricity and to turn off the breaker before working on a project, is there any advice you would give to a listener out there maybe wanting to start a DIY project? 

Robert Neil: Know your limits.

Robert Neil: Call 

Ryan Williams (host): it professional. 

Ryan Williams (host): Yeah. 

Robert Neil: We've, we come behind in our trade, [00:22:00] DIY work. Sometimes it's done really nice. Some people either they've already learned some of this or they could follow videos really well online and can do things. But for electrical, I would really urge them to get help just because you can make something work.

Robert Neil: And it not be safe. And you don't know that because it works. 

Ryan Williams (host): That's a great point. That's a great point. What's one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you first started in the trade? 

Robert Neil: Never work on an energized circuit unless you've been properly trained and have the correct equipment.

Ryan Williams (host): Oh boy. There's a story behind that. I'm sure 

Robert Neil: there is. I, my first year as an apprentice. Which is generally a, it's taboo to work on energized circuits. They had me working on energized circuits in Irvine, California, and it was, a 2 77, 4 80 volt system, and I was supposed to just identify circuits for demolition and inspecting those wires.

Robert Neil: One of the connections broke loose and I came in contact with four 80 volts [00:23:00] and it did permanent damage to some nerves and arm and shoulder, neck that again, I've had, had I been properly trained and had safety ahead of time. I had no training except on the job, which everyone loves, on the job training.

Robert Neil: I didn't have any formal training. Preceding that. And if I had that, I would've known what I was doing 

Robert Neil: Was not safe. 

Ryan Williams (host): Sure. 

Robert Neil: And I was trusting my journeyman who did not have my back. 

Ryan Williams (host): If someone is considering a career in electrical trades, what would you tell them? 

Robert Neil: It's a wonderful trade.

Robert Neil: Just make whatever you choose. You've gotta like it, you've gotta love it. So that's the biggest thing is figure out what you wanna do. If this is what you wanna do, you think it is, it's a great trade. You, I get bored easy and there's so many avenues to go inside of our trade. It's wonderful.

Robert Neil: If you find yourself, you do gear more towards office work. There's estimating, they're designing, just shy of becoming an engineer. We have guys that will become electrical [00:24:00] designers, so they're working in cad. To a blend of that and field work project management, owning a company, becoming specialized in a certain area.

Robert Neil: There was a period of time where I did nothing but fiber optics, and it was just during that time period when that on a job, I was only one willing to get trained. I did it and I did fiber optic for several years. So you can, there's so many avenues and it's rewarding work. 

Ryan Williams (host): What makes this career so rewarding in the long run?

Robert Neil: I tell students, places I've worked and. When you can drive by decades later and point to that building and tell them when that building was being built. I was there building it. And I'll point to, when I was early in my career, I was not here in Oklahoma, but Joplin, Missouri, I spent a lot of time there.

Robert Neil: So there's hospitals there that I've worked on from the ground up At the time it was called Oak Hill. Now I think it's Freeman East. The Sam's Club that's there, I worked on that. I can identify pipe runs and things. I've worked on lighting. You can always, as long as that building's standing, you [00:25:00] can point at that and say, I did that.

Robert Neil: And that's really satisfying. It's really. It makes you feel good to look around and see work you've done. 

Ryan Williams (host): I hope that our students really pick up on that for particularly projects like Eden Village and things like that where they're, they can see drive by those and see and tell their family or whatever.

Ryan Williams (host): I worked on that. Like I can, I did that, which is pretty cool. 

Robert Neil: It is. We started one today in fact called, the Dema, the Demand Project where it's their nonprofit that helps traffic teenagers and we are there helping them set up their new office area. 

Robert Neil: So that's another area, another avenue that we could give back to community and students can learn while they're doing that.

Ryan Williams (host): What makes you proud to be part of Tulsa Tech and the Oklahoma Career Tech system? 

Robert Neil: I wish I would've had this when I was in high school. 

Robert Neil: I didn't live. Me too. I didn't, yeah. I didn't live here. I didn't know anything about it. And when I found out about it, when I first applied for a position at Career Tech I couldn't believe this existed.

Robert Neil: It, I would've loved to have had this in high school as a young adult [00:26:00] even. The training's phenomenal. The getting ready for a career, I would've given anything for this. 

Ryan Williams (host): Yeah, it's really great opportunity for both high school students and adults. So 

Robert Neil: it is. It definitely is. 

Ryan Williams (host): Thanks so much for sharing your time and experience with us today.

Robert Neil: Thank you. I appreciate it. 

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