He Tried College Three Times. Then He Found a Career With No Ceiling.

When Garrett describes his job, he keeps it simple: “I’m a building inspector during construction.” [SOC: 47-4011 Construction and Building Inspectors] The view from his workplace is considerably harder to summarize.

On the day we spoke, Garrett was looking up at a 15-story hospital tower under construction for UC Davis. The roughly $3.5 billion project will include nearly 400 patient rooms, emergency and operating facilities, and the infrastructure required to support 24-hour care.

Garrett is one member of a team responsible for inspecting the work as it happens. The building may eventually become part of Sacramento’s skyline. For now, it is a complicated collection of concrete, structural steel, rebar, anchors, seismic bracing, fireproofing, and thousands of details that have to be done correctly.

That is where Garrett comes in.

As a special inspector, he provides third-party verification for work that building codes require to be independently inspected. Depending on the day, he may be observing concrete placement, checking structural connections, verifying the installation of anchors for medical equipment, or inspecting work that only someone with his particular certifications can cover.

It is technical work with enormous consequences, like many skilled trades we highlighted in our report: "Defining the Skilled TradesA Data-Driven Blueprint for the Future".

Garrett found his way to it only after deciding that the conventional education path was not working for him.

Finding an education he could afford

Garrett tried community college three times before turning 25. Each time, the immediate demands of earning a living took priority.

“I was more focused on work and survival than I was with college,” he said.

He was also watching what happened to people around him. Friends invested in college degrees, trade schools, and specialized programs, sometimes taking on significant debt. Some completed their programs and still struggled to find work in their chosen fields. Garrett knew he wanted further education and a durable career. He also knew he did not have the time or money to step away from work and pay for school himself. His father, an Electrician, suggested an apprenticeship.

Garrett did not want to become an Electrician or simply repeat his father’s career. He wanted to find his own path. So he began researching apprenticeship programs online, working his way through the possibilities until building inspection caught his attention. One factor made the choice stand out: He could not see a ceiling. (pun definitely intended)

“I didn’t want to hit a ceiling where I do this for five years, and I’ve already gone as far as I can go,” Garrett said. “There are always more certifications. There are always more directions to go. Theoretically, the possibilities are endless.”

The field could lead to additional technical specialties, larger and more complex projects, or a future management role. It gave him the flexibility he had been looking for. Just as important, the financial model worked. Garrett entered the Technical Engineers Apprenticeship program in Northern California. The 6,000-hour program typically takes around five years to complete. Apprentices earn money while working, and Garrett’s program covered his books, instruction, certification training, and the cost of certification exams passed on the first attempt.

Once a year, the program pulled him away from the jobsite for two weeks of focused training toward a new certification. For someone who wanted to learn but could not afford to stop working, it offered a practical way forward.

Turning uncertainty into opportunity

The beginning was not entirely smooth.

As a first- and second-level apprentice, Garrett held certifications in soil and concrete inspection. That work slows considerably during Northern California’s rainy season. During each of his first two winters, he spent between two and four months laid off.

The experience taught him an important lesson: The more types of work he could inspect, the more consistently he could work. “I realized I just needed to knock out all my certifications,” he said. “I wanted to be as marketable as possible.”

He pursued them aggressively. Today, Garrett holds approximately 13 certifications, including one specific to California hospital construction—more than most of the inspectors working alongside him. That decision has helped take him from early seasonal layoffs to major projects in California and Arizona. At one point, he left the state to work on a roughly $4 billion project in Phoenix because he knew the experience would advance his career.

When he was ready to return to Sacramento, he called his union representative and explained that he was finished traveling. The representative reviewed Garrett’s experience, certifications, and reputation, then connected him with the company working on the UC Davis hospital.

There was no formal interview. Garrett was hired through word of mouth.

The inspection community in California is small, he explained. People know who has the necessary certifications, who works well with others, and who can be counted on. For Garrett, the credentials opened doors. His reputation carried him through them.

Work he can point to

The technical challenge and career mobility matter to Garrett. So does something more elemental: He likes the way the work feels.

“I’m outside,” he said. “Even if I’m in a building, I still get to see the sun coming in and out. I’m not stuck in my home office. I’m not stuck inside. I’m not stuck in a cube.” The work also gives him separation between his job and the rest of his life. At the end of the day, he can go home and enjoy his time.

For Garrett, that combination—being physically present, seeing new engineering ideas become real, and maintaining a healthier work-life balance—is a major benefit of the career. He also gets to participate in work that will outlast the individual tasks filling his day.

“It’s nice to be part of something bigger than myself,” he said.

The evidence is all around him. He can drive through Sacramento and see roads he helped rebuild. He can identify the projects where he inspected concrete or structural work. He can get on the freeway, look toward the city, and see the hospital taking shape even when he is off the clock.

“I love being able to get on the freeway and see my building when I’m not working,” he said.

That sense of tangible accomplishment is difficult to replicate. A hospital is not an abstract deliverable. People will enter it for emergency care, surgery, recovery, and some of the most consequential moments of their lives. Garrett will know that he helped make the building possible—and helped ensure it was built correctly.

A viable path for people still seeking one

The US faces approximately 2.1 million skilled-trade openings each year, while apprenticeships, certificate programs, and two-year occupational programs produce only about 800,000 annual completions. Behind that gap are thousands of individual career decisions: people trying to determine what kind of work fits them, what education they can afford, and which path will give them room to grow.

Garrett believes the trades deserve greater consideration, particularly from people who feel stuck while making those decisions.

“I highly recommend the trades to people who don’t know what they want to do,” he said. “It’s structured. It’s been really good for me.”

His own story offers a useful reminder about what career readiness can look like. Garrett did not have everything mapped out at 18. He tried different jobs. He attempted college more than once. He paid attention to the financial risks people around him were taking, identified what he needed from a career, and chose a training path that let him earn and learn at the same time. Then he kept learning. Eight years after entering the field, Garrett has built a career with options, economic stability, and work that he can see from the freeway.

“It’s been great for me,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like work.”

This is one in a series of skilled trades stories connected to our new Lightcast research report "Defining the
Skilled Trades: A Data-Driven Blueprint for the Future". <--- Access that report and the complete list of US skilled trades occupations.