Joe Rosario is already building his career in the electrical trade as a teenager.
Just a couple of years ago, Joe wasn't sure what he wanted to do when his grandmother encouraged him to look into the skilled trades. That led him to SUNY Delhi, where he discovered the electrical construction program and quickly found a career path he hadn't expected.
Today, Joe is pursuing a career as a lineman, working on real jobsites and serving as president of the NECA Southern Tier chapter at SUNY Delhi. He recently spoke with Trade Hounds about finding his way into the electrical trade, what he's learned on the job, and how technology and AI could shape the future of the trades.
Two years ago, I was sitting and I had no clue what I wanted to do. I wanted to become a cop. I didn't know, and I was talking to my grandma, and she's like, "You got to go to school, you got to do something." And I'm like, "All right, fine." I hated school growing up. So she came out, and she's like, "Why don't you learn a trade?"
I was like, "All right, cool." I liked Legos. It's got to be something similar.
So we looked into SUNY Delhi. I went there, and one of the programs caught my eye: the electrical program.
And then going into it, now that I've been in it for a little bit, now that I've done the program and kind of seen and learned everything about electrical, and not just how it works but why it works, it's truly a very fascinating thing to me.
There’s a lot of science that goes into it. And I think it's really an amazing thing. I wasn't expecting it.
I think being in the trades, what I appreciated the most is how everybody works together, how the trades kind of work in unison.
I spent some time working in the city, and it's so fast-paced. You walk down the hallway and you come back a few hours later and there's drywall up and the lights are done, and everybody knows kind of what their job is and they get right to it.
And I really appreciate also how hard-working everybody is. It never feels like there's a job that needs to get done. It always feels like everyone's on top of it.
I was part of the club last year a little bit, and I really enjoyed what they were doing.
Last year, we did win the Community Service Award through our school, SUNY Delhi, and I thought it was an amazing cause, especially to go out and take time out of our day to help people. We've done electrical, we've done cleanups. We've done all this type of stuff.
And I wanted to continue what the past president of the club was doing because I do think it's a great cause.
So, we're really trying to branch out. We want people to know what the club's about. We want people to be able to, I guess, kind of appreciate it and learn more about it. And that's the biggest thing is outreach.
I worked out in the city. We were on Park Ave doing a 27-story building. We were redoing the whole thing, and that was just one of the experiences that I got.
We worked at somebody's house through the school program. They took us to somebody's house, and we were redoing their electrical. And now our club is picking that up where it left off, and we're doing it completely for free.
I've used the Trade Hounds app for a little bit, and I think it's really good, especially for the Compare My Pay feature. Looking for a job, that was the main thing I was looking at: How much are these people getting paid and how much should I be getting paid?
And we have a lot of guys that are going into new jobs and they're trying to look for an apprenticeship or they're trying to start out somewhere, and they don't know what they should be making. They don't know what they're worth yet.
So to have an app or have your feature that kind of says, "Hey, an apprentice starting out in New York City is making $25 an hour. You should be making that and not $16.50 or whatever the minimum wage is."
It is very helpful. It really is.
And now we're in such a digital world. Most people can't leave the house without their phone, being able to navigate and being able to utilize the features that some of these apps present, I think it's vital, especially when you have the growth of artificial intelligence.
That's just the beginning of what it can be. I think using that, especially in a field like electrical, it can't replace it, but it can work with it.
I think that's something that we definitely should key into: How can we work with AI and not against it?
I really love that question because if you asked me this five years ago, I couldn't guess that I would be here.
I'm in school to become a lineman, and I've truly been loving that. I think it's a wonderful experience, and I've met some great people.
I'd love to own my own business. We'll see what the future holds.
From discovering electrical work at SUNY Delhi to pursuing a career as a lineman, Joe’s experience highlights the opportunities, community, and sense of purpose the trades can offer.
Watch the full conversation with Joe below to hear more about his journey, his experience on the jobsite, his perspective on technology and AI, and where he hopes his career takes him next.