Pretty Plumbing Co

Description

My career in this field began in 1992 when my father bravely signed me up as an apprentice for his mechanical contracting company. Why bravely? Let's just say my experience involving power tools and swinging hammers was rather... limited. I've come a long way since those days, and have spent years providing Residential and Commercial new construction with our family operation on Vancouver Island. I moved to Vancouver full time in 2000, and joined with the Vancouver Aquarium as their new Systems Engineer. I have a long-standing passion for marine life, and was very excited at the opportunity to combine my plumbing career with maintaining and improving marine habitats and life-support systems. Following this, I moved on to broaden my experience in the Industrial realm, and signed on as a pipefitter in northern Alberta. This was an unusual step for me, as this field is extreme in it's physical and mental demands, as well as on the surface, seemed to conflict with my personal views regarding the environment. This project in particular was for a Weyerhauser pulp mill, which was undergoing extensive upgrades for environmental purposes.

Woah woah woah! Slow down there Stephen, one question at a time! In the beginning I was uncomfortable with suddenly calling myself "a plumbing apprentice" when just previously I was known to be "working with dad". I knew that I was at the absolutely bottom of the ladder and had a long haul ahead of me; not only did I need to acquire the basic understanding that most guys get throughout their schooling and lives, but I also needed to learn how to use hand and power tools... with an audience! It was definitely unusual for the other guys on the jobsite to have me there, all of them were very supportive and I guess proud in a way. Much of my understanding of the other trades came from my first two years on the job; everyone seemed to take me under their wing to have a small hand in my experience and understanding of construction. It was a critical development time for me and I had no feelings of negativity coming from other apprentices, tradesmen, or bosses as they all knew I was serious. One thing was for sure: I worked very hard, and they could see that.

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