The first turbine I ever climbed fully was a Vestas V82. Vestas being the manufacturer and V82 meaning the diameter of the blades tip to tip.

Getting myself into trouble with wind turbines took an unexpected path to get where I am now as I am writing this. So lets get started!

Enrolling into College

After graduating high school in 2017, I took two years off to just work and collect myself from finally being free from “that prison.” At the beginning of 2019 I started to look for colleges within a 10 hours drive of my home town. My initial major was Airport Management that prioritizes the student to become an airline pilot. After looking at a limited amount of colleges within that 10 hour radius. I found a college that was a 5 hour drive from my home town giving me the separation I wanted to live on my own, and had great options for further education.

Swapping Majors

I initially pursued a major to become an Airline Pilot, drawn by the excitement of aviation. However, I eventually decided to shift gears and focus on becoming a Wind Turbine Technician/Specialist. This change was driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact on the world and contribute to sustainable energy solutions. I realized that this path offered both a thrilling hands-on career and the opportunity to be part of a growing industry that truly matters. While aviation remains a passion, I am still excited to embrace this new direction and the challenges it brings. Swapping into the Wind Industry while in college was a peaceful process. I started taking classes like Basic Electricity 1, Intro to Wind, Field Training 1, Basics of Hydraulics, Basic Electricity 2, Motor Control, and Field Training 2.

First Job in the Wind Industry

My first job in the industry was on the construction side. I worked 50% at a lay down yard and 50% at the turbine site where it was being built. This is where I learned how logistics plays a huge part in the industry. One small bump in the road on getting turbine parts to the pad can result in weeks or months of delay. We worked long hours and worked 7 days a week. Using cranes and heavy equipment we were able to build over 100 turbines within 3 months. This was an exciting time for me because I became friends with people to taught me the fundamentals of the Industry and how to move around to keep challenging yourself.

Finishing out College

The courses I took to finish out my degree were of a more advanced courses that built off the knowledge of the previous courses. Some of these courses were; Electric Motors and Generators, Electrical Maintenance and Safety, Digital Circuits and Systems, Intro to Industrial Instrumentation, Power Generation and Transmission, Programmable Logic Control Systems, and Industrial Networking and Data Acquisition.

First O&M Job

Getting my first O&M job was an amazing experience. While in college I learned on the Vestas and Siemens Gemesa giving me extensive knowledge on hydraulic systems. While at the O&M position I worked on the Acciona platform. This platform was a very tricky manufactuer to learn, but over time I was able to hone my skills into troubleshooting.

Changing Directions within the Industry

After being in the O&M and moving around the various positions, i.e. Lead Wind Technician, Site Safety Coordinator, I decided to change directions and start looking at traveling while working. A coworker that become a very close friend came from traveling to be on the O&M side constantly complained about the money he was missing since he wasn’t traveling. He later resigned his position as an O&M tech and went back to traveling, but in the MCE (Major Component Exchange) field. After talking with him countless number of times and going back and forth on the idea, I decided I would join him in the traveling and the MCE field.